Ripples and Consequences
by Yuki Fallout
Summary: After the Wave Mission has disastrous consequences for Team 7, Naruto is forced to find a new sensei and become a different kind of shinobi. Fighting for what he believes in, Naruto makes new friends and enemies along the way. Genjutsu!Naruto Fuuinjutsu!Naruto Pairing(s) undecided.
1. Chapter 1

Ripples and Consequences

Chapter One: Beginning

 _ **Nami No Kuni:**_

As he looked at his hands, Naruto already knew he'd made a mistake he could never take back.

Covered in blood, his still-lengthened claws reminded him of his failure; both to control the anger and hate within him, and to feel any sorrow for her death.

After watching Sasuke "die" in front of him, Naruto had been unable to control his rage and almost immediately defeated Haku, the opponent they'd been having so much trouble with.

If only that had been enough to stop his rampage.

Naruto was vaguely aware of the chop to the neck that removed him from consciousness.

* * *

 _ **A Week Later:**_

"Hokage-Sama, we've returned successfully from our C-rank mission, I'd like to make my report privately." Kakashi's voice cut through the silence in the office.

"Understood. Team 7, minus Kakashi, you're dismissed." At this, both Naruto and Sasuke left the Hokage's office, unsure of how their future would go from here or how this would affect their team.

Since Sakura's death, Naruto had felt bitter and hollow. Not because he had killed the girl he had a crush on, but because he _liked it._

Despite how Naruto wanted to slam his fists into a wall, break down in tears and blame the Kyuubi for everything, he knew this was his fault more than anyone else's.

Sasuke meanwhile didn't overly care for the loss of Sakura. Her death was unfortunate, sure, but ultimately, she was a liability to the team, so her death didn't overly impact him.

Neither felt they had anything to say to the other right now, Naruto afraid of both Sasuke and Kakashi's potential reactions to him now, and Sasuke thinking he needs to become stronger so he isn't defeated by an opponent like Haku again.

Truthfully, neither Kakashi or Sasuke blamed Naruto for what had happened. Sakura had rushed into the dome of her own volition when she saw Sasuke hit the ground, and in the shinobi world, actions have consequences.

Despite this, Naruto felt like he'd lost his right to be a member of Team 7, so he decided he would devote himself to training so that he'd never lose someone close to him again.

 _ **In the Hokage's Office:**_

"So that's the full detail of your report, Kakashi?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, suddenly looking his age, a weary frown set upon his face after hearing what Kakashi had to say.

"Hai, Hokage-Sama. Though I don't think the seal is compromised, it's a worrying sign that Naruto was able to tap into so much of the fox's power." Kakashi's own expression wasn't much lighter, feeling the impact of failing to save yet another person who trusted him.

"Let me worry about that. For now, inform Naruto and Sasuke that your team is on standby until further notice, and that they'll both receive the full pay for an A-Rank mission." Lighting his pipe, the aged Hokage dismissed Kakashi.

"Before you go, know that I'll be reviewing your performance and ability as a sensei for your failure to properly prepare your team." Kakashi nodded briefly, a downcast expression on his face, before leaving the Hokage's office.

 _ **Training Ground Seven:**_

Kakashi appeared at the training ground in a swirl of leaves. He observed Naruto and Sasuke, who were sparring on the side of a tree, before calling them down.

Both boys looked questioningly at him, wondering what was happening to their team from here out.

"Team 7 is on standby for the foreseeable future, awaiting further instructions from Hokage-Sama. We're all receiving an A-Ranked mission pay, and I'm ordering both of you to take some time to properly mourn Sakura, I'll come find you both in five days' time."

Having said his piece and seeing that the boys had digested the information, Kakashi left the way he came, heading to the memorial stone to lament his failure as a sensei.

"Hey, Dobe?" Sasuke called out to Naruto who was already starting to walk away.

"What is it, Teme? You heard sensei, we may as well head home for now" replied the blond, before Sasuke cut him off.

"You better not slack off in these five days, I want to spar with you when we next meet" called the raven-haired Uchiha, a smirk on his face.

Naruto appeared surprised at this declaration, before adopting his trademark grin.

"Count on it! Just don't go crying to sensei when I finally knock that stick out of your butt!"

Both looked at each other with determination, their words of challenge ringing out between them.

Sasuke departed shortly after, deciding to return to the Uchiha compound to train, leaving Naruto some time to think.

Sitting against a tree, the blond remembered the times in the academy when Sakura was still alive and thought, really thought, about the profession he'd chosen for the first time.

Despite all the years they'd spent in the academy, the kinds of techniques they were learning and the weapons they used, it still felt to Naruto that the academy hadn't prepared them for what real shinobi life was like.

Romanticising the idea of becoming a shinobi, the academy lured many children into their walls, training them to become soldiers for the village they called their home.

As the container of the nine tailed fox, Naruto wondered if he'd ever really had a choice in becoming a shinobi. He wouldn't choose another lifestyle now. He's a shinobi, a killer, and despite the mental trauma he was suffering, he still hadn't become completely disillusioned with the idea of becoming Hokage.

For the first time, Naruto had doubts in his dream, though he wasn't one to give up so easily. Unconsciously, he was placing some of the blame for Sakura's death on the Yondaime Hokage for sealing the Kyuubi in to him, a new-born infant.

"Why do I want to be Hokage?" Naruto muttered out loud, not even considering that anyone else may be listening.

"Was it to be acknowledged? Did I really want to lead the village just so the people who hate me would finally acknowledge me?" A hurt expression on his face, Naruto continued to question himself and his life choices to date.

"Finally starting to figure out what it means to be a shinobi, kid?" A voice called out from the treeline, causing the blond to look up, though he couldn't see anyone there.

"It takes more than determination to be a real shinobi, brat. Sometimes you'll have to make choices you can't take back. You'll learn the hard way that sometimes protecting one thing means letting go of another." Appearing from the treeline was a woman who Naruto had never seen.

Dressed in provocative attire consisting of a trench coat, a mini skirt, and a netted mesh outfit underneath, likely reinforced in some manner to prevent being easily torn, Anko stepped in to Naruto's field of vision.

Brown eyes meeting blue, Anko made it apparent that she was putting out a challenge to the blond.

Getting to his feet, Naruto got into the stance he'd learned at the academy. Anko scoffed condescendingly in response.

"You call that a stance? Even a first-year academy student could get in a better taijutsu stance than that!" Naruto looked put-out at this, not realising how much his form was lacking.

"Land a hit on me, kid, and I might teach you something to make you a _little_ less pitiful." Not missing the slight on his abilities (though completely missing the one on his height), the blue-eyed blond stepped up to her challenge.

As Anko dropped from the treeline, the blond put his hands into a ram sign and summoned three shadow clones with a cry of "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Hiding her surprise at how much chakra the blond must have, Anko dashed forwards, throwing three kunai simultaneously.

Unable to react in time, Naruto got a cut on his cheek while jumping back as all three of his clones were dispatched by the kunai.

Unperturbed, Anko continued her assault, rushing into a taijutsu battle. She decided to start off simple, throwing a feint with her left leg, before then kicking the blond away with her right when he tried to raise a guard.

Naruto quickly called another ten clones, hoping to overwhelm her with numbers if he couldn't win in direct combat.

His clones all rushed as one, Anko quickly settling in to a stance to fight them off. As the first rushed in with a heavy-handed punch, she stepped to the side, grabbing its arm and using the clone's momentum to throw it into the crowd.

As the clone collided with two of the others, dispelling one of them, another two clones jumped at her, kunai in hand.

"Now you're getting it kid, fight to kill or you just might die!" Anko exclaimed while simultaneously jumping into the air and raining kunai downwards, dispelling the two that had rushed her in a cloud of smoke.

Using the smoke to launch a surprise attack, one clone gave another a leg-up into the air to continue the attack, to no avail as a snake shot out from the trench coat and bit into the clone, dispelling it.

Backflipping and landing on the ground, Anko saw that there were five clones remaining. Wondering briefly where the sixth clone and the original were, she threw a dozen needles in quick succession.

Dodging to the right, two of the clones were able to escape, whilst the other three were skewered by the needles, dispelling them.

While the remaining clones made to rush her, Anko charged back in, delivering a swift punch to the throat of one of the clones whilst backhanding the other away.

As the second bounced off the ground, she belatedly realised that was the original and wondered when he had chance to switch with a clone in the melee.

Again, she pushed forward, attacking the original with quick kicks and punched him in the gut. As the fight went on, it was apparent that the blond was becoming more sluggish.

Suddenly, a pebble that Anko was about to pass over on the ground transformed into a clone, throwing a punch at her.

Unfortunately for Naruto, she had completely seen through this plan, caught the clone's fist and snapped its wrist, dispelling it. She then promptly threw a kunai where she knew the last clone was hidden, taking away Naruto's last hope of winning.

Finally, she kicked his legs out from under him and pinned him.

"Not bad for a brat. But you still lost and that's what's important in the shinobi world." Anko taunted, simultaneously teaching him an important lesson.

"How come it was getting so hard to keep up with you at the end?" Naruto enquired, wondering how he'd been taken out even easier than Kakashi had beaten him in the bell test.

"That first cut to your cheek was coated with poison" the purple haired woman revealed with glee in her eyes.

"Hey, wait, that's cheating!" Naruto cried out, trying to defend his defeat.

"You're right, it is. We're shinobi, brat, cheating to win is what we do. Fact is, you lost that fight in the first move, and the rest from there was just me making a point." Naruto looked downcast at this, realising that she was right and that he couldn't expect others to fight fair in a real battle.

Getting up off of him, Anko had a disappointed frown on her face. That changed to delight when he tried again to attack her, despite the fight being declared over. She grabbed his collar and slammed him into the ground, swiping a kunai from Naruto's pouch and holding it to his throat.

"Vicious kid, I like it. But it's still not enough." Anko was grinning wickedly as she said this, until she saw a smirk on the kid's face, causing her to jump back from him, wary of a trap.

Unfortunately, the reason the blond was smirking was because of the kunai she'd taken from him. As she jumped back and resumed her stance, kunai still in hand, she spotted something on the kunai and quickly threw it away, jumping back as she did so.

Naruto grinned as he set off the exploding tag wrapped around the kunai and Anko was unable to completely avoid it, collapsing into a pile of mud.

At that moment, another Anko stepped out from behind some bushes, slowly clapping and whistled, impressed at the display. Naruto, meanwhile, looked scandalised.

"Good job taking out my mud clone, kid. Well, a deal's a deal so I guess you've got yourself a new sensei." At this, Naruto jumped in the air excitement, pumping his fist, until he saw the sadistic grin on his new sensei's face.

A cold sweat ran down Naruto's back, making him wonder if he shouldn't have just taken the fall instead.

"Don't worry kid, I'll make sure to torture you in to shape." Anko had a bloodthirsty smile on her face as Naruto paled slightly.

"Don't you mean you'll train me in to shape?" Naruto asked, inwardly dreading the answer.

"I know what I said."

 _ **At the Memorial Stone:**_

"I'm sorry sensei, I've failed you yet again." Kakashi spoke quietly to the stone where the heroes of the hidden leaf were mourned.

"I just don't know what I'm supposed to do from here, or how I can teach both Sasuke and your son to become great shinobi when everyone who gets close to me ends up dying."

Kakashi was on the verge of tears, looking on miserably, wondering how he could have become such a failure when everyone said he was a prodigy as a child.

He recoiled in shock when a hand was laid on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw the man he called his closest friend and rival.

"Kakashi, I know now's not the best time for you. I know you're hurting, but you're not a failure. Sometimes, we give our everything to protect something and it still isn't enough." Gai gave Kakashi a reassuring smile.

"You're still in the springtime of your youth, my rival! You just need to get back in to your training and be the shinobi we all know you really are. But most importantly, right now you need to be there for your students." Kakashi nodded in gratitude and walked back to the village with Gai, forgoing his usual shunshin.

 _ **In the Hokage's Office:**_

"There's no choice, I'll have to recall Jiraiya to inspect the seal" stated the Sandaime Hokage to his closest confidant.

"I still think you're too soft on the container, Hiruzen. If you gave him to me, we could have a weapon unlike any other." Danzo said in what he hoped was a convincing tone.

"I believe you Danzo, you could probably turn Naruto in to an excellent weapon. But I have faith that this village and his will of fire will instead turn him into an excellent shinobi." Danzo disagreed with Hiruzen's idealistic view but didn't state it aloud.

"What of Kakashi and the Last Uchiha? What will happen with the team now?" Danzo asked, curious of how Hiruzen planned to deal with this new conundrum, secretly hoping for a chance to put a root spy in to the team roster.

"Sasuke will be apprenticed to Kakashi, as despite his faults, he's still our best bet to teach Sasuke to properly wield his Sharingan while keeping him loyal to the village." Danzo nodded in agreement with this.

"And what of the Jinchuriki?" Danzo followed up, unwilling to let the topic slip.

" _Naruto_ will be apprenticed to another capable ninja, I was potentially thinking Shikaku Nara." Danzo was shocked at this revelation.

"Our Jonin Commander? What do you think he can offer the Jinchuriki's growth?" At this, a shadow seemed to be cast over Hiruzen's eyes.

"I think we can mould young Naruto's mind and make sure the enemy won't know what hit them."

* * *

 _ **Three Days Later, Forest of Death**_

"Come on brat, keep up. You'll never beat the Uchiha brat at this rate." Despite being annoyed at being called a brat, Naruto upped his pace to try keep up with Anko. This was their sixth lap around the outskirts of the forest, occasionally having to avoid some of the more hostile wildlife.

Naruto felt like he wasn't learning fast enough, though in actuality they'd covered a lot of ground for a mere three days.

Whereas on the first day, even Naruto's insane stamina had run out after three laps, now his sixth lap he was still able to keep pace with Anko, though he had yet to make it to ten laps.

Of course, it didn't help that he wasn't aware that on the time he'd hit his ninth lap, Anko had used a paralysis poison to knock him out so that he wouldn't overexert and tear his muscles.

He'd mostly been learning the art of stealth and the beginnings of Anko's own taijutsu style. Though he wasn't progressing well in it thus far, his flexibility was quickly developing which would help him get there.

Of course, that wasn't all they worked on. His tree climbing was refined to make sure he could maintain combat even upside-down for an hour, his chakra control had increased significantly from this, though his endless reserves of chakra meant he didn't notice this progress.

Anko also taught him mud clones and instructed him to primarily use them, as while they were less effective than shadow clones, they costed less chakra and would make enemies more likely to underestimate him.

Finally, his kunai and shuriken throwing had been significantly refined, now he was able to hit stationary targets almost every time, as well as moving targets more than half of the time. Still not at a level that Anko was satisfied with, but a massive leap in progress as far as she was concerned.

Not that she ever told him when he was making good progress. Anko's rule of thumb was "underestimate yourself, overestimate your enemies." This meant that the way Naruto was learning to fight was to take out his opponents as quickly as possible, without overly showcasing his abilities unless he needs to.

Although he'd only learned one ninjutsu, which he thought of as just a weaker version of what he already had, Anko had beaten into him, literally beaten into him, how unimportant the amount of jutsu you have is in comparison to how you use them.

However, the biggest change to have come about was to Naruto's personality. Developing more of a shinobi mentality, the blond was now far more mentally prepared for the shinobi lifestyle than he was three days prior. Anko providing him with the attention he'd been wanting led to him somewhat imitating her personality. Namely, he'd become slightly more sadistic and enjoyed teasing the opposite sex.

Coming to a stop alongside Anko at the end of their seventh lap, the blond looked at her questioningly.

"We're going to get you some decent clothes brat. That jumpsuit has been giving me brain damage for a while, plus it reeks and is full of holes" Anko sneered.

"Whose fault is that?" Naruto pointed at her accusingly.

"Yours." Anko responded without missing a beat, causing Naruto to face-fault. "Tone down that attitude of yours, too. You need to conduct yourself like a shinobi."

Naruto nodded, his expression setting into a grim determination.

As they walked back to the village, Naruto piped up.

"Hey Anko?" A kunai was immediately held near his throat. A bead of sweat rolled down his face.

"Anko-sensei?" As quick as it had appeared, the kunai disappeared as though it was never there.

"Yes, brat?" Anko smirked at his change of tone.

"Do you know what's going to happen with my team?" Naruto asked, hoping for an answer from her.

"I don't, kid. Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. I'm an assassin, not a babysitter." At this, Naruto deadpanned.

"Well, we're here." Naruto looked up to see Higurashi's Shinobi Store.

Higurashi's Shinobi Store, as the name suggests, is a store that sells shinobi gear, armour and clothing. Naruto had never been to this store before, both because he wasn't a shinobi, also because he was afraid that, like other stores, they'd immediately ban him.

Upon entering the store, there was a booming voice.

"WHAT IN KAMI'S NAME ARE _YOU_ DOING HERE?" Naruto flinched, in preparation to be thrown out of the store, when he noticed the large man had grabbed Anko by the collar and was shaking her violently.

"Uh, Anko-sensei, what did you do?" Naruto questioned the woman, who was still being shaken.

"Wait, did you say Anko- _sensei_? You're teaching now? That's a riot!" Finally, the man stopped shaking Anko in favour of holding his stomach from laughter.

Standing at a height of 6'6 was an absolute bear of a man. Tanned skin, dark hair, and bulging muscles, he may as well have been the main character of the next series of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.

"Your sensei, brat, made me pay for her last dango spree, which costed more than my store earns in a week." Slightly irritated at being called a brat by yet another adult, Naruto turned a wide-eyed expression to his sensei, whose dango appetite may even rival his own appetite for ramen.

Anko meanwhile, had a faux innocent expression on her face.

"So, kid, what can I do for you? Are we getting something that isn't hideous and orange for you? Please say yes."

"Actually, yes." Naruto said, a little annoyed at the slight against his favourite jumpsuit.

At that moment, the door to the back of the store opened and a girl walked in from it. Twin buns on the top of her head, her brown hair made her look like a panda.

"Higurashi-san, how did a panda get in to your store?" At this, the large man let out an uncharacteristic snicker as a vein throbbed on the young girl's head.

"Well, excuse you! My name is Tenten, I'm not a panda!" A scandalised expression on her face, Tenten put her hands on her hips and stared Naruto down.

"What in Konoha are you wearing? That jumpsuit is almost as bad as my teammate's spandex." At this statement, everyone in the room shuddered, even Naruto, who had no idea who her teammate was.

"That's why I'm here, I was hoping for something more shinobi-like." Tenten grinned in response and grabbed him by the arm.

"I have just the thing!" Naruto had a feeling he had just made a terrible mistake, a feeling he'd been having a lot lately.

* * *

 _ **Four Hours Later**_

Finally, Naruto and Tenten re-emerged from the changing area, the latter of whom had a slight blush on her face at the blond's new look.

Naruto wore black shinobi sandals, black trousers tapered with dark orange bandages, and a dark orange overshirt, which could be turned inside out and was black on the inside. Under this was a mesh shirt.

"That's better kid, now you look like a real shinobi" Hideki stated.

Totalling up the price, Hideki levelled Naruto with a sharp look.

"That'll be 5000 yen." Anko quickly stopped Naruto from getting his wallet out.

"Get the kid a sword and a roll of explosive tags, too." Higurashi grabbed a roll of explosive tags, while Tenten grabbed a basic sword.

"This is for your training, brat, so it's on me" Anko said, paying a total of 9000 yen for all of Naruto's new gear.

"Thank you, Anko-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, surprising her with a hug.

Anko, agitated with this response, shoved the blond off her and swept his legs out from under him, making him hit the floor.

Tenten offered him a hand getting up, which Naruto gladly took.

After scowling at his sensei for tripping him, Naruto smiled gratefully at Tenten.

With Naruto in his new getup, both student and sensei left the store after thanking the owner, Naruto cheekily shooting a wink at a blushing Tenten on the way out the door. Anko had taught him that

 _ **In the Hokage's Office:**_

"So, Shikaku, will you apprentice young Naruto and help shape his mind to become the potential future Hokage he dreams of becoming?" Petitioned the Hokage.

"Hokage-Sama, I will train him as well as I can. However, I won't consider him as a Hokage prospect until he proves himself worthy of such a responsibility" Shikaku asserted.

"I understand, Shikaku. Also, the responsibility for training his other skills shall be left to his new sensei, Anko, and my wayward student, Jiraiya." Shikaku nodded in agreement with this plan.

"Wait, Anko is training him? Since when?" Sarutobi couldn't help laughing at this.

"She took it upon herself to start training our resident troublemaker when he impressed her in a spar. With both dealing with their respective burdens and the distaste of the villagers, I think this could be beneficial for them both."

Shikaku completely agreed with Hiruzen's reasoning, though he couldn't help but think that pairing the Jinchuriki together with an ultra-sadist sensei was a terrifying prospect.

A shiver running down his spine, Shikaku assented to the Hokage's plan.

 _ **Uchiha Compound:**_

Sasuke was practicing his fire jutsu down at the lake where he first showed off the jutsu he was practicing to his father. With a cry of "Goukakyu no jutsu" Sasuke let off a large stream of flames above the lake.

Several days of practice had paid off for Sasuke. As all his practice had been independent, he hadn't made leaps and bounds of progress like Naruto had, but he had managed to reduce the chakra consumption of his main jutsu by improving his chakra control.

Above all, Sasuke had mellowed out somewhat following Sakura's death. He had come to realise how quickly life can come to an end on a mission and had made the decision that if his behaviour weakened his teamwork with others, it only lowered his odds of getting his revenge against Itachi.

* * *

 _ **Two Days Later:**_

It was around noon and Sasuke was again training, each strike harder and each combination more fluid than the last.

In a flurry of leaves, Kakashi appeared in front of Sasuke.

"Come on Sasuke, we're going to discuss our team's future between us and Hokage-Sama, then afterwards we'll attend Sakura's funeral." Sasuke nodded in assent.

Kakashi grabbed on to his shoulder and they both disappeared in a flurry of leaves.

 _ **Ichiraku's Ramen Stand:**_

"Wait, so you defeated his apprentice all by yourself and still completed the mission?" Ayame asked, pushing her long brown hair out of her face, her dark eyes betraying her doubt of Naruto's re-telling.

"I'm telling you, that's what happened! Sasuke was filled with needles and I was all by myself, but I beat the enemy ninja and saved the day!" Naruto relayed excitedly, conveniently forgetting to mention his rampage or Sakura's death during the mission.

"Okay, okay, I believe you Naruto. Gosh, you're growing up so fast. Before long you'll be cooking your own meals and we'll never see you around here anymore" Ayame stated, a false hurt expression adorning her face.

"Never, Ayame-chan! Ramen is the food of the gods, I'll always come here, even when I'm Hokage!" Naruto exclaimed.

At this statement, there was a fond smile on Ayame's face.

"So, it's Ayame- _chan_ now is it, Na-ru-to-kun?" Ayame teased, provoking a blush from the blond.

"Let him eat his noodles in piece, Ayame." A voice called from the kitchen, drawing a blush from Ayame and increasing Naruto's embarrassment ten-fold.

As he went to resume eating his noodles, he sensed a spike in chakra behind him, immediately spinning with a kunai in hand.

Looking at him in slight shock were his sensei and teammate, surprised by both his reactions and his new attire.

Kakashi eye-smiled at Naruto, thinking 'sensei, your son is well on his way to becoming a real shinobi.'

"Let's go have a chat with the Hokage shall we, Naruto?" Kakashi asked/stated (as Naruto knew there was no real choice to continue eating his ramen.

"Sorry Ayame, we'll catch up some more next time, I promise." Stated Naruto, dropping enough to pay his bill and a little extra as a tip for the waitress.

Ayame nodded unfocusedly, her attention diverted to the Jounin with the silver gravity-defying hair, a blush present on her face.

Kakashi eye-smiled at her, before grabbing hold of both Naruto and Sasuke, using the shunshin to transport them to the Hokage's office.

 _ **Hokage's Office:**_

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at his desk, focused intently on the large piles of paperwork in front of him, a satisfied smile in place at how he'd gotten more than half of his paperwork finished.

As the veteran Hokage leaned back in his seat to take a puff from his pipe, the current main source of his headaches, in the form of the remnants of Team 7, appeared, their arrival knocking all his paperwork on to the floor in a disorganised pile.

Looking like someone had just kicked his puppy, the Sandaime turned a fierce glare on to the arrivals. Kakashi and Naruto both looking sheepish, while Sasuke just looked exasperated at them both.

"I take it you're here for your team re-assignments. Though, Naruto-kun, I see you've already procured yourself a new sensei." At this, both Kakashi and Sasuke turned questioning gazes on to the whiskered blond, whilst he had a similar expression pointed at the Sandaime.

Hiruzen merely drummed his fingers on his desk in amusement at this mixture of reactions in the room.

"It's my job to know these things, Naruto-kun, as one day it may become your job too." Naruto couldn't help but smile at this subtle, yet strong, showing of faith in his ability to achieve his dream of becoming Hokage.

Hiruzen continued, moving past the obvious question that both Kakashi and Sasuke wanted to ask.

"Now then, as of this moment, Team 7 is officially disbanded." Hiruzen calmly stated, though the statement itself led to much stronger reactions from those affected.

"But, what about-" all three of them started at the same time, before being cut off by Hiruzen.

"This is my final decision on the matter. Don't worry though, you'll see each other again in the upcoming Chunin Exams. Naruto, Sasuke, the both of you along with another talented Genin will enter the Chunin Exams being hosted in our village. I expect you to do your utmost to impress me." Hiruzen announced, cutting off any retaliations while making his own expectations clear.

"Who will be training us, then?" Sasuke enquired, wondering if the change would negatively affect his training. His training could not be compromised, that would leave him unable to fight Itachi when the time came.

"Excellent question, Sasuke. You'll be taken on as Kakashi's apprentice, with some emotional training on the side from Inoichi Yamanaka. Naruto, you'll continue with your sensei, Anko, while receiving strategic planning training from Shikaku Nara." At this, Kakashi paled as he once again took in Naruto's new attire.

'Anko is training him? What in the sage's name does Hokage-Sama have planned?' Kakashi thought, fearing for Naruto's sanity.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Thank you for reading the first chapter of my new story, Ripples and Consequences. Review if you feel like it!**


	2. Chapter 2

Ripples and Consequences

Chapter Two: Training and Preparation

* * *

 _ **Forest of Death**_

"Come out, brat. You win, you've really improved." Anko called loudly.

In response, Naruto popped out from behind a tall tree, his overshirt worn inside-out, making his entire ensemble black. His blond hair had gained a couple of centimetres length in the last three weeks since his training with Anko began, though most of it was hidden under his black bandana headband.

"Ha, I knew I'd get you eventually sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, before jumping back as a kunai was thrown in his direction.

Unfortunately for the blond, a line of ninja wire wrapped around the kunai redirected its trajectory, leading it towards him.

"You should know better by now, brat. Haven't you learned anything?" Anko questioned, slightly disappointed in her newest student as her thrown kunai struck him.

Her eyes widened slightly as she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"I've learned you should never underestimate your opponents." Naruto stated, pointing a kunai directly at her sternum. At that moment, the clone who had been in the danger zone previously collapsed into a pile of mud.

Anko held her hands high in surrender, leading Naruto to believe she'd given up. Though he refused to let his guard down, having learned that lesson the hard way these past few weeks.

"Say the phrase we agreed on." Naruto pushed, unwilling to relent on his stance until he could be certain she wouldn't try to pull a fast one on him.

"Why would I do that, when I have the advantage here?" Anko asked, turning around to reveal exploding tags all over the front of her trench coat. Naruto jumped back in surprise, not expecting her to sacrifice her precious trench coat to win the fight.

He belatedly noticed that the tags were duds, but he had already lost his advantage the moment he went on the defensive. Anko had a sadistic smile on her face as her student retreated. In yet another stroke of misfortune for the blond, his jump led to him being wrapped in a near invisible spider web of ninja wire.

Naruto sighed in disappointment as he realised that once again he'd been defeated without Anko even using any jutsu to fight him.

"Don't beat yourself up, kid. You're a hundred years too early to get the drop on the legendary Anko-sama! Now, you know the rules, get to it." Naruto's eye twitched in response to her taunting, but he wisely decided to just say the phrase and get it over with.

"Oh, great Anko-sama, please in all your mercy forgive this feeble-minded peasant for his transgressions against your holiness. This low-born serf had no idea that he was challenging somebody of such grace and beauty as you. There, I said it, please will you let me down now?" Naruto asked, embarrassed at the surrender phrase he had used.

"That was brilliant kid, I almost thought you were sincere that time." Anko stated, laughing with mirth as she cut part of the wire with a kunai, leading to Naruto falling on to the floor, still tangled in wire.

"You must be getting sloppy then, sensei." Naruto's voice called out from high above in the treeline. He dropped in front of her and slow-clapped, ironically reminiscent of their first encounter.

"Good job taking out my shadow clone, sensei." At that moment, the expression alone on Anko's face could've killed as the now-revealed clone dispelled in a cloud of smoke. Inwardly, she was impressed with the whiskered blond, both at the clone being able to convince her it was the original, and for the witty dialogue.

She was slightly stunned upon having the realisation that she likely never fought the real Naruto in that entire battle. What impressed her most of all was the implications of that possibility. While he may have lost the actual battle, in a mission where he was delivering sensitive information, he'd have just gotten the slip on her and likely have already escaped.

"What is Shikaku teaching you that's turned you from a runt into an almost half-decent shinobi in such a short time, brat?" While Anko's question was valid, the way she had asked had Naruto's eye twitching.

After taking a deep breath to re-compose himself, as Shikaku had taught him to do, saying it'd help him better manage his emotions, he started.

"We mostly just play shogi and he runs me through some mission scenarios that are more like riddles and gets me to come up with solutions. Then he throws in extra stipulations until eventually I fail the mission. I haven't succeeded in any of his 'missions' so far." Naruto stated, sounding slightly put-out at admitting his shortcomings.

Anko was impressed at the results of this level of strategic training, and Naruto's improved vocabulary wasn't lost on her either.

"Meaning he's having me do the backbone of the work training you to be a shinobi while he just plays games with you? Typical Naras, I swear that clan wouldn't breathe if it required any work." Naruto snickered at this remark, feeling there was an element of truth to it.

As a result of training with Shikaku, the blond had also developed a healthy friendship with the Nara clan head's son, Shikamaru. Though they'd known each other in the academy, he wouldn't have really said they were friends before.

Shikamaru was observant and had realised just how much Naruto was learning from his father over a short time period; the tactics that had beaten him in games of shogi mere weeks before he now overcame without much thought.

Though Shikamaru wouldn't consider Naruto a genius in any sense of the word, his ability to learn and the fact he never fell for the same tricks twice was making him an increasingly challenging opponent for the Nara heir.

More than anything, the blond's determination and spirit had only grown in the last few weeks, the casual acceptance of those close to him, in the form of Anko, Shikamaru, Shikaku and Tenten had done wonders for him.

Often, Anko thought she glimpsed actual happy expressions on the blond's face, completely unlike those of the mask he'd hidden himself behind.

Between his acting, intuition and abilities, Naruto was steadily being moulded into becoming a shinobi specialising in infiltration.

 _ **Training Ground Seven:**_

Dodging a hail of shuriken, before shooting off his newly learned "katon housenka" technique with his own thrown shuriken was the Uchiha heir, Sasuke.

Over the last few weeks, his skills had blossomed under Kakashi's tuition and, like his sensei, he was well on his way towards becoming a ninjutsu specialist. However, he still felt his progress was too slow. Sasuke's ambition and desire to get retribution against his older brother, Itachi, had led to Kakashi becoming worried he would become a flight risk.

Unsure of how to discourage the Uchiha from the path of blood he had set himself upon, he instead focused his efforts on helping Sasuke to grow, thinking that if the boy felt that he was making better progress in the village than he would elsewhere he'd be less likely to go rogue in the future.

Dodging the multitude of flame enhanced shuriken that his apprentice had shot out, Kakashi rushed into close range to lure Sasuke into taijutsu. Despite having the Sharingan, Sasuke's progress in taijutsu had been minimal in comparison to his ninjutsu, so this was the deciding moment of the battle.

Throwing a haymaker at his sensei, Sasuke was forced to quickly evade a rapid assault of punches and kicks. Suffering a glancing blow to the ribs, Sasuke gritted his teeth and surprised Kakashi with a headbutt.

Recovering quickly, Kakashi grabbed Sasuke by the wrist and threw him overhead into a tree.

His back slamming into the tree-trunk, Sasuke's anger and instability grew, leading to him making an irrational decision.

Sasuke rushed into combat with Kakashi again, throwing a feint that Kakashi saw through easily. As Kakashi went to throw a kick with his left leg, Sasuke pinned his right with a kunai and started making the signs to produce a fireball at close range.

Eyes widening, Kakashi reacted with his full shinobi prowess on show. He trapped Sasuke's hands together with ninja wire and knocked him out with a swift chop to the neck.

Afterwards, the silver haired Jonin looked at his pupil with a disappointed expression, though Sasuke was unconscious.

"Despite his emotional training with Inoichi, his anger led him to try to actually kill me. Impossible for him to do right now, but his ability and his ferocity are only increasing." Kakashi muttered to himself, worried for the emotional state of his student.

 _ **Hokage's Office:**_

Hiruzen Sarutobi watched proudly as his pseudo grandson was able to get the slip on one of his village's top infiltration experts, though he would of course expect Anko to also up her own training in response.

However, as Sandaime Hokage, he couldn't help but wonder if shaping the village's Jinchuriki into an infiltration specialist was a wise decision. Both for his unlikeliness to make use of the Kyuubi's chakra, as well as for his safety as he would be out of the village on long term missions.

It was only speaking at length with both of Naruto's teachers that had convinced him to allow the choice, though he was still at odds with it. Regardless, Anko's observation of how everyone was always looking and glaring at him, yet he was still able to paint the Hokage monument in broad daylight held merit.

It added to his peace of mind when he thought of how he would soon be able to have his own student, Jiraiya, teaching Naruto. That thought comforted him as he believed it would help his successor's son to become a well-rounded shinobi, despite having a specialisation, though he doubted Naruto would ever have much luck with Genjutsu.

Of course, with his crystal ball, he wasn't blind to the amount of chakra control training Naruto did during his free time. It seemed to Hiruzen as though he may have longed to have some potential for Genjutsu, though he wasn't sure what could have given him the idea.

In fact, the one to plant this idea in the blond's head was none other than Shikamaru. He argued that the blond's active imagination, dedication and on-the-fly planning would make Genjutsu the perfect art for him.

Naruto had tried to refute this point by bringing up his overly large chakra reserves. Shikamaru had convinced him when he told him that he'd be a lot deadlier if he could trick others into believing he was a Ninjutsu specialist, when really, he specialised in illusions.

With this new motivation in mind, Naruto threw himself head first into training so that he could learn Genjutsu. Even Anko and Shikaku were unaware that he had already learned two D-ranked illusions from the shinobi library during his free time.

Hiruzen couldn't help but look forward to the Chunin exams, where he could see his grandson (in all but blood) perform and demonstrate his growth.

* * *

 _ **Tea Country:**_

Jiraiya, the legendary toad sage, wandered through the remnants of a destroyed village in Tea Country, noting a suspicious lack of bodies, either alive or dead in the village.

Intel that he had received from one of his spies suggested that his wayward teammate, Orochimaru, was operating somewhere within this area.

After investigating the ruins for a while longer, Jiraiya realised that, with that, all his remaining leads had gone cold for the time being.

'This reeks of my snake of a teammate.' Jiraiya thought to himself, somewhat unnerved by the complete absence of any signs of life in this village. Thoughts and theories swirling around his head, but leading him no closer to any actual answers.

'Still, it feels less like everyone was killed and dragged away, more like they all just up and left.' Jiraiya decided that, at least for the time being, this wasn't a theory he had the time to explore.

Knowing it was almost time for the Chunin Exams, the toad sage decided it was about time to start making tracks.

Weaving handsigns, he summoned a small toad and popped a scroll into its mouth.

"Deliver that to sensei for me, would you?" Knowing to whom he had been referring, the toad disappeared in a flash of chakra smoke.

"With that sent ahead, now they'll see me coming. Here's hoping the hot springs will be busy in the approach to the Chuunin exams." Jiraiya spoke aloud.

Beginning his trek back to his home village, the toad sage wondered how his godson was faring.

* * *

 _ **Forest of Death:**_

After a few more rounds of sparring, Anko finally decided to call an end to their training for the morning.

"Here, brat, you've impressed me today." Anko stated, handing Naruto a piece of paper.

Looking at his sensei in confusion tinged with pride briefly, he looked down to the paper in his hand and realised it was his application for the Chunin exams.

"You've earned this, your teammates should both be receiving theirs in the next couple of days. I wasn't going to give you this until the end of the week, but as I said, you impressed me today." Naruto beamed at this praise.

"Thanks, Anko-sensei, I won't let you down." Naruto swore resolutely, fully intending to keep this promise.

"I know you won't, kiddo. If you do, I might just feed you to one of my snakes." Naruto grinned nervously at this, wondering whether she was serious, breaking out into a cold sweat when he saw the sadistic smile on her face.

Signing his papers after hesitating from Anko's threat, he handed them back to her and asked the question she'd been waiting to hear.

"So, how much time do I have to get ready?"

* * *

 _ **Sunagakure:**_

"Understood, Kazekage-sama!" Baki saluted before exiting the office of the Yondaime Kazekage.

Running his fingers through his spiked, rustic red hair, the Yondaime Kazekage continued his preparations.

"Once Konohagakure is crushed, our daimyo will have no choice but to give us more missions and enable our glorious village to prosper." He stated aloud, believing that nobody was listening. As the Kazekage turned back to his paperwork, hoping to clear a fair amount before his next war council meeting, he never noticed the fly on the wall dispel.

With the Daimyo of Kaze no Kuni draining the country's coffers dry, the Yondaime Kazekage felt he had no choice but to declare a war for resources, so when the treacherous Orochimaru of the Leaf appeared, offering a deal that seemed almost too good to be true, Rasa saw his chance. Missions had been few and far between for his village, and with a weaker economy, Suna was beginning to come apart at the seams.

'I just hope that defective son of mine will play his part.' Rasa thought to himself, knowing all too well that he couldn't control his son.

It was just a shame for Rasa that he never realised that Orochimaru didn't have his best interests at heart.

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later, Higurashi's Shinobi Store:**_

Tenten was bored. Scratch that, she was irritated. She'd spent the last three hours serving at the counter for the occasional shinobi who entered, despite the fact her adoptive father had said he'd return from his errand within an hour.

He was going to be getting a piece of her mind when he returned.

Tenten looked as the bell rang indicating the opening of the storefront door to see a familiar head of blond hair.

"Hey, Naruto-kun! Have you come to spar with me again?" Tenten asked, hopefully.

Over the last week, the two of them had taken to sparring together with swords. For Naruto, this was helpful as he needed a sparring partner to help him learn to use the blade Anko had purchased for him, while Tenten got to have a sparring partner her own age who shared an interest in weapons and didn't wear horrid green spandex.

Naruto was far from being at a skill level where he could defeat the weapons mistress with a sword alone, but he was making steady progress training with her and sometimes he was able to give her a run for her money, especially when he added clones in to the fray.

"Not today, Ten-chan. I've come to pick up gear for the Chunin exams." At this declaration, Tenten went bug-eyed.

"You're entering the Chunin exam? But you've only been a Genin for two months! My team have been Genin for over a year and this is our first exam!" Tenten sounded slightly jealous, but she was more concerned with the safety of her newest friend, her sensei had warned her all about the dangers of the exams.

"You're entering too, Ten-chan? Wow, that means we might get to face each other in the finals!" Naruto announced, a confident grin in place.

At this declaration, Tenten also adopted a confident expression.

"You haven't beaten me in a spar yet, Naruto! Don't expect to get lucky in the Chunin exams and beat me." Tenten looked smug at reminding the blond that he had yet to ever beat her in all their confrontations.

"Well, I'll be a hundred times stronger by then and I'll be running circles around you, then we'll see who needs luck" said Naruto, cockily.

"If you get a hundred times stronger, I'll just have to get a thousand times stronger!"

"Now, now children, settle down, you're both pretty." A familiar rugged voice interjected.

"Tou-san, when did you get back?" Tenten asked, shocked that she hadn't noticed him enter.

"A couple of minutes ago, I was just enjoying watching the two of you bicker, my little girl is growing up so fast." A faux tear rolled down the man's face, looking very out of place on his otherwise schooled features.

Both Naruto and Tenten had tic marks on their heads at the man's (successful) attempts to rile them up.

"So, Naruto, what can I do for you today?" Shocked at the change of tone and the usage of his name (for once), the blond didn't respond for a moment as he processed the question.

"Oh yeah, that's right! I need some arm guards and some training weights if possible, old man!" Naruto listed off excitedly.

"Old, am I? I'm still young enough to give you the beating Anko clearly hasn't given you yet!" At this, Naruto paled and frantically apologised.

"I'm sorry old ma- Uh, Higurashi-san!"

"So long as you understand, it's fine." Hideki stated, as though it had never happened.

Stunned, Naruto wasn't sure how to react to the sudden moving on of the conversation. Tenten, meanwhile, was developing an increasingly large tic mark on her head as the two hadn't noticed they'd butted her out of the conversation.

"Right then, let's find you something you'll like then" Hideki said, a knowing smile on his face.

Hideki headed into the storeroom, leaving Naruto and Tenten to talk.

"So, Tenten, what are your teammates like?" Naruto enquired, interested as she had never spoken much about them to him.

"Trying to get some intel on me before the Chunin exams, Naruto-kun? Surprisingly _coy_ of you." Tenten teased.

"N-No, I just wanted to know more about you, Ten-chan!" Naruto stammered, hoping he hadn't offended his first friend his age.

After a short while of the conversation heading in this direction, Hideki returned from the back of the store, leaving Naruto's question about Tenten's teammates unanswered.

"I've got just the thing for you, kid." Stated Hideki, a jovial expression on his face, having taken a while longer than necessary to watch his adopted daughter and his current most frequent customer converse.

Though there was nothing romantic between the two, Hideki was more than happy to try to encourage positive relationships for his daughter, as he didn't feel her teammates being her only friends was healthy for her.

Without further delay, Hideki presented a pair of black arm guards and dark orange training weights.

"These aren't very heavy training weights, but you're better off starting small anyway kid, wouldn't want to weaken yourself right before the big day." Naruto agreed with his point here.

"That's great, Higurashi-san, how much will they cost?"

"You may as well call me Tou-san if you're going to keep flirting with my daughter like that, young man." Hideki teased, half joking and half curious to see the blond's reaction.

Both Naruto and Tenten lit up with blushes at this, neither of them able to look at each other.

"Th-There's nothing like that between us, Higurashi-san!" Naruto stated loudly after choking back a stutter.

" _Yet."_ Tenten muttered lowly, though Naruto didn't hear her.

Making a surprised look at his daughter for a moment, Hideki totalled up the price for Naruto before sending him on his way.

After Naruto waved goodbye to them both, promising to come see Tenten again to spar before the exams, Hideki faced his daughter.

"So, when were you going to tell me you had a thing for our resident troublemaker?"

"I wasn't, but with the way he's developing I thought I should make my move." Tenten stated, fighting back her blush.

"Ah, you're worried that people will see his new skills at the Chunin exams and then he'll suddenly be popular?"

"That's about the gist of it. But he's so dense! Because of his sensei, he thinks this flirting is all word games and just how shinobi talk to each other, so it's hard to get him to notice me." Tenten admitted with a hard-to-read expression.

"Good luck then, princess. If my instincts serve me as well as they used to, you're about to get a lot more competition."

* * *

 _ **Two Days Later, Nara Clan Compound:**_

"Checkmate." A voice sounded, not an unusual occurrence in the Nara Clan compound, where shogi was a widely enjoyed pastime.

"No way. Did I make a mistake? How did this happen?" Another person asked themselves aloud, unsure as to how they were defeated.

While shogi wasn't at all unusual to see in the clan compound, Naruto defeating Shikamaru was a far more extraordinary feat.

"You used the same tactic in our fourth game, I just pretended I was falling for it while pinning down your forces on the other side." At this, Shikamaru had a wide-eyed expression.

Since his training with Shikaku had begun, Naruto had naturally become a lot more intelligent as different tactics were instilled in him and his vocabulary developed. With the addition of centred breathing to help stay calm, as well as Anko's methods of distracting opponents, Naruto was developing into a real potential strategist.

This was the first time he had defeated Shikamaru, and it would be unlikely that he would do so again for quite a while, especially as the Nara clan heir now knew what had led to his defeat, but even winning once was proof of how far he had come.

Shikaku had a small smirk on his face, impressed at his student for being able to beat his son. Still, Shikaku was more aware than either that Naruto had lucked out that Shikamaru hadn't pushed his attack to checkmate him.

As Nara clan head, he couldn't be prouder of his son either. His son was developing into a good man and talented shinobi. He also knew that his son had a far more formidable mind than he himself did. Shikaku expected it would be less than a decade before he was surpassed by his son.

After getting to know Naruto for a couple of weeks, Shikamaru had been able to surmise a reasonably accurate theory which he took to his father.

That is, that the Kyuubi's chakra had been sealed into Naruto.

As a result, Shikaku was forced to reveal to his son (though not before telling him that it was an S-rank secret, so he was forbidden from sharing it to anyone else) that the fox had been sealed into Naruto to protect the village and that he deserved to be seen as a hero for protecting them all with his every breath.

Shikamaru's opinion of Naruto didn't change, though he did think it made the blond a little more troublesome. For the time being however, he hadn't revealed to Naruto that he knew one of his biggest secrets. Nor did he reveal to his father that he had another theory. A theory of who Naruto's father was.

"Well, now that you've managed to beat me, you're here for the long haul, Naruto." Shikamaru announced, before resetting the board so that they could begin another game. Shikaku had a small smile on his face at the determination his son was showing.

 _ **Fire Country, Outskirts:**_

Jiraiya had been heading north from Tea Country for the last couple of days on his return trek to Konoha. Though he'd been unable to shake the dreadful premonitions he thought he could feel as he'd gone through Tea Country.

To the sage, the country seemed lifeless and oppressed, the kind of signs that suggested a forced change in leadership. What had Jiraiya concerned was that none of his spies in this country had informed him of anything of the sort.

Lately, his spies had been reporting less and less activity within the area, and while Jiraiya put a good amount of stock into his spy ring, he couldn't help but feel there was something amiss.

'Are my spies compromised?' Jiraiya wondered to himself, untrusting of the overall lack of information he had received on Tea Country, even as he had passed through it.

Jiraiya couldn't afford to be in the dark about these things, and Konoha couldn't afford to send its shinobi on missions with zero intel.

After all, an unknowing shinobi was a dead one.

 _ **Sound Village:**_

"Orochimaru-sama, the invasion plans are almost ready. All that remains is to kill the Kazekage to ensure that Suna won't surrender." This report brought a serpentine smile to the treacherous sannin's face.

"Excellent. You've done well reporting this to me. How is my most trusted spy in the leaf?" Orochimaru enquired, hoping to have received some valuable information.

"His latest reports indicate weaknesses in the village's defences, and his position in the hospital has enabled him to send back some genetic samples for your research, Orochimaru-sama."

"Very good work. Continue your mission, Kimimaro. I want my entourage ready to move on the Kazekage within the day."

"Very well, Orochimaru-sama."

Orochimaru felt his plan was progressing smoothly, though he felt the Yondaime Kazekage was likely to be a liability if he was left in power. After many years of preparing plans to crush the village that had scored him, Orochimaru wasn't about to let an anomaly ruin his plans.

 _ **Hokage's Office:**_

"Are all the preparations ready for the exam?" Enquired Hiruzen.

"Almost, Hokage-sama, though we haven't been able to fix that glitch in the matchup board yet." Advised one of his selected exam proctors.

"I'll bet. Kushina was always far too talented when it came to sealing. I'd be surprised if even Jiraiya was able to crack the formula she left on that board." Hiruzen admitted with an amused chuckle.

For the Sandaime Hokage, the last few days had been entirely devoted to the Chunin exam preparations. With only five days to go until they began, the participants from other villages were expected to begin arriving in the next 48 hours.

He had also finally selected a promising Genin to be on the team with Naruto and Sasuke. Between the Kyuubi's rampage twelve years prior, plus the Uchiha massacre more recently, the other villages saw Konoha as being weaker than its brethren. Hiruzen had formed this particular team for the purpose of demonstrating the leaf's strength.

Although he'd had to remove this Genin from another team, he felt the results would more than justify his decision to do so. He felt that the team could make it to the finals without their missing member, so he had put in a member of the Genin Reserves for the time being.

'Although, the rookie teams this year have many clan heirs and promising shinobi. I can't help but feel this generation will surpass even my own generation.' Such thoughts filled the Hokage's mind with hope for the future. Though for the time being, he knew all he could do was make sure the Genin were as prepared as they could be for the deadly exam ahead.

"ANBU, go fetch all of the Jonin squad leaders, forthwith." Immediately, three chakra presences left the room, though the exam proctors had never even realised they were there.

 _ **Training Ground Seven:**_

Sasuke was able to land a glancing blow on Kakashi, pressing his assault forwards.

Forced to put his favourite book away, the Jonin turned his full attention to his apprentice.

A few minutes after their latest bout of combat, Kakashi called a stop to the sparring, Sasuke relaxing slightly.

"Here is your entry form for the Chunin exams, I need you to sign it if you want to enter." Snatching the paper without further delay, Sasuke quickly signed it before giving it back to his sensei.

"I'm more than ready, I just hope my teammates won't hold me back. Especially the dobe." Sasuke stated, a cocky expression set in place.

"I'm told he's been making extraordinary progress, though I'll warn you now, I won't tolerate any fighting before the exams begin. Save your battle for the finals." Sasuke nodded. Although he wanted to fight Naruto, he felt it was better to keep his abilities hidden from him in case they fought in the finals.

"I'll definitely defeat him. I'm an Uchiha. He'll be my first stepping stone on my path to crushing _him."_ Though this statement worried Kakashi somewhat, he knew (or at least thought he knew) that Sasuke wouldn't try to kill Naruto if/when they came to blows.

As Kakashi and Sasuke finished their latest spar, a shinobi in an ANBU mask appeared in a swirl of leaves.

"Kakashi-senpai, Hokage-sama requires your presence."

Kakashi nodded to confirm he had received the message, leading the ANBU member to disappear as quickly as he had appeared.

"You're dismissed for the day, Sasuke. Go get some rest. I've got to make a report to the Hokage on your progress." Nodding to his sensei, Sasuke started trekking back to the Uchiha clan compound.

Kakashi vanished in a shunshin.

 _ **Training Ground Eight:**_

"Team 8, that's enough for today. Kiba, you need to watch your teammates while you attack, you can't get in the way of your comrades in a real battle. Shino, you need to communicate with your teammates more. I know the way you work is effective, but you need to develop signs for the three of you to communicate with during combat. Hinata, you need to be more ferocious. If you don't take out your opponent in the first stroke, it only makes more trouble for your teammates." All three nodded to this feedback.

"Kurenai-sensei, it's hard for us to fight while concealing our abilities from each other though." Kiba pointed out, his teammates agreeing with him.

"I know it is, Kiba, but you have to remember that since the three of you are from prominent clans, a lot of your skillset is public knowledge anyway, so you need to conceal what you can." Kurenai explained gently.

"Hai, sensei!" Her three Genin said as one.

At that moment, a member of ANBU appeared in the clearing.

"Yuuhi-san, Hokage-sama requests your presence."

Kurenai nodded, leading the member of ANBU to shunshin away.

"Well team, you're dismissed for the day. Make sure to get some extra training in with your clans before the exam."

With that declaration made, the three members of Team 8 left to go get ready for their exams.

 _ **Training Ground Nine:**_

"Tenten, Lee-kun, you've both made fantastic progress. I can't wait to see the two of you and your teammate show off your youthfulness in the Chunin exams!" Gai exclaimed, tears of joy running down his face.

"Thanks, Gai-sensei, we won't let you down." Tenten said.

"GAI-SENSEI, IF I FAIL TO BECOME A CHUNIN IN THE EXAM I'LL RUN A THOUSAND LAPS ON MY HANDS, IF I FAIL TO DO THAT I'LL LIFT SEVEN HUNDRED POUNDS ON MY NOSE-"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

Tenten averted her eyes in horror as the two embraced in a hug, a sunset appearing behind them with a tidal wave crashing behind them in the distance.

At that moment, a member of the ANBU appeared.

"Gai-san, Hokage-sama has-"

Immediately, he turned his back to face away from the two men in green spandex hugging each other, internally wondering how such a realistic sunset backdrop appeared behind them in the middle of the day.

"Is this going to take them long?" He asked Tenten, praying she was saner than her teammates.

"Yes. They'd never stop if they didn't have to, I think." At this, the ANBU visibly gagged, despite the fact he was wearing a mask.

"Please tell your sensei that Hokage-sama has summoned him, I'll accept the repercussions for failing this mission."

With that said, the ANBU member disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving Tenten flabbergasted that her team had horrified an ANBU member into quitting a mission from the Hokage.

 _ **Nara Clan Compound:**_

"Checkmate." Naruto watched as Shikaku once again put his son into checkmate, leaving Shikamaru wondering where he'd gone wrong.

"You need to stay focused on the bigger picture, son. You spend too much time on the details and don't notice how my moves tied together." Shikaku stated, teaching his son an important lesson in the form of advice.

'Still, his progress is astounding.' Shikaku couldn't help but think to himself.

Right then, a member of ANBU appeared.

"Nara-sama, Hokage-sama has summoned you as the Jonin-sensei of Uzumaki Naruto."

"Understood, thank you for the message." With a slight nod of respect, the ANBU member vanished.

"Well then boys, keep on practicing and maybe one day you'll defeat the greatness that is me." Leaving both boys with their jaws hanging on the floor with this statement, Shikaku sunk into his shadow and vanished.

 _ **Training Ground Ten:**_

Asuma had fallen asleep in a deckchair while Chouji and Ino were sparring.

An ANBU member appeared and woke him up.

"Asuma-san, Hokage-sama has summoned you."

"Understood."

With all their jobs done, the ANBU members returned to their stations in the Hokage's office.

"Great work, brats. You're dismissed for the day. Go train with your clans and get ready for the exams."

His two students that were presented (and he just noticed he was missing a student), looked at him in exasperation, knowing he'd been asleep for several hours.

"Hai Asuma-Sensei!" the two chorused, after which Asuma disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

 _ **Half an Hour Later, Hokage's Office:**_

With all of the people he'd asked for in front of him (the half an hour was how long Gai and Lee had spent in their sunset before Tenten got fed up and started throwing weapons at them), the Hokage began.

"You're all here today to confirm your team's attendance in this year's Chunin Exams."

"I, Hatake Kakashi, nominate Uchiha Sasuke for the Chunin Exams."

"I, Yuuhi Kurenai, nominate Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino for the Chunin Exams."

"I, Might Gai, nominate Hyuuga Neji, Rock Lee and Higurashi Tenten for the Chunin Exams."

"I, Sarutobi Asuma, nominate Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino and Akimichi Chouji for the Chunin Exams."

"I, Nara Shikaku, nominate Uzumaki Naruto for the Chunin Exams."

At this, the Hokage nodded. All the Jonin-sensei looked around, shocked that every rookie team had been nominated this year, all of them looking especially shocked to hear that their Jonin Leader, Shikaku, was Naruto's sensei.

'So, all of the rookie teams will be participating this year? This is sure to be a spectacle for the Daimyo.' Hiruzen's thoughts strayed more to the current political climate of the village.

Between the Kyuubi attack twelve years prior, and the Uchiha clan massacre that had happened more recently, Konoha appeared weak to other countries around the Elemental Nations. Hiruzen knew that for this reason it was more important than ever for the new, promising generation of Genin to put on a spectacle in the exams. He just hoped they were ready.

With this confirmed, the Hokage dismissed them.

 _ **Training Ground Seven:**_

After Sasuke had come to find him, Naruto and the Uchiha heir were waiting for their sensei in their old training ground, which now served as Kakashi and Sasuke's training ground.

Kakashi appeared in a swirl of leaves.

"Ah, good, you're both here. I've brought your teammate for you to meet."

With this, both Naruto and Sasuke's curiosity was piqued.

'Who has the Hokage/Jiji put on our team?' Sasuke/Naruto thought at the same time.

Next to Kakashi stood a boy with greyish white hair and large, round glasses.

"It's good to finally meet you both. My name is Yakushi Kabuto."

* * *

 **Author's Note: Thanks for reading Chapter Two of Ripples and Consequences. Review if you feel like it! Thanks for all the reviews so far, I was surprised at the amount of people who read my story so soon. I won't answer questions about who the pairing or pairings will be, you'll have to wait and see.**

 **Chapter Three will be out soon, until then, Ja Ne!**


	3. Chapter 3

Ripples and Consequences

Chapter Three: The Chunin Exams Pt 1.

 _ **Ichiraku Ramen:**_

"Oh man, that was great!" Naruto exclaimed, patting his stomach contentedly.

Ayame giggled at his silly behaviour while Teuchi was trying to pretend he didn't feel proud of the ramen he had made.

Naruto popped the money to pay for his ramen on the counter and left the stall. As he stepped out of the stall, he spotted a square shaped rock in his field of vision.

Putting his hand under his chin and humming dramatically, Naruto decided to have a bit of fun.

"Well, this square shaped rock seems like it'd be a perfect chair for me to sit on." There was no reaction from this.

"Or I guess I could test out my exploding tags on it. Higurashi-san's tags are always the best!"

In response, Konohamaru immediately rushed out from under the rock, his skin looking pallor as he realised his 'boss' was about to test out an exploding tag on him. Konohamaru put on a brave face as he approached the blond.

"You're so skilled to see right through me, boss! That's why you're my rival after all!" Konohamaru announced loudly, drawing the attention of quite a few people who were passing by.

At this moment, it became apparent that Naruto and Anko had been spending far too much time together training.

"Oh, you were under there, Kono? I was just thinking I'd like to see how good my new tags are. I've heard that, when applied to a surface near an enemy shinobi, the blast damage almost always causes a painful death." Konohamaru paled at this, believing that Naruto had been seriously planning to blow the 'rock' up while he was still under it.

"That's a good one, boss. I mean, you knew I was there the whole time, right? You're just making fun of me again, right?" Konohamaru kept questioning, terrified.

"Hm, I don't know, Konohamaru. That rock really had me convinced. I thought to myself 'you know what Naruto, I bet if you stuck a tag on that rock there'd be a loud scream- I mean shockwave as it detonated' but if it's not a real rock I guess I'll have to look out for another square rock like that." Konohamaru was shaking in fear at the sadistic grin on Naruto's face.

"I understand, boss! I won't use such a pitiful disguise against my rival ever again!" Naruto's expression softened considerably, and he ruffled Konohamaru's hair, much to his annoyance.

"That's good, Kono. If you tried something like that in a real infiltration mission, it could get you killed." Konohamaru looked horrified at the scenario Naruto had presented to him.

"But, you wouldn't really have stuck an exploding tag on that rock while I was still underneath it, would you?"

Naruto's silence spoke volumes.

Konohamaru ran off in fright from the terrifying 'lesson' he'd just been taught.

Naruto decided he'd better follow behind him, it was dangerous to be running around the village while there were so many foreigners in the village, after all. It definitely wasn't because he'd enjoyed the expression on Konohamaru's face as he ran off.

As Konohamaru ran around a corner, he bumped into a shinobi in a full black costume with purple face paint.

"That hurt, little punk" the shinobi said, holding Konohamaru in the air by the collar.

"Stop that. You'll get yelled at later." Warned a blond kunoichi stood beside him.

Right then, Naruto appeared. From both sides, though the two foreign shinobi only saw the one in front of them.

'He's not bad looking' thought the blond kunoichi, a light blush on her face.

"I'd put him down if I were you. I'm not the type to show mercy to anyone, just ask the kid there." Naruto stated to the two foreigners, Konohamaru nodding rapidly, despite being in a foreign shinobi's grip, he was honestly unsure who he was more afraid of.

"Or what? What'll you do if I don't put the kid down?" Challenged the shinobi, interested to see what a Genin from what he thought was a weak village could do.

A loud smacking sound was heard following by the blond kunoichi yelling out in embarrassment.

She immediately spun round and impaled the offender, which turned out to be another Naruto, with a kunai, dispelling it in a cloud of smoke.

"A clone? Why'd a clone just smack my ass?" Temari questioned, scandalised and embarrassed.

Naruto had a small amount of blood trickling down his nose at this point.

"I mean, that wasn't my intention, but I definitely don't regret it." Naruto said, lightly clenching and unclenching his fingers in reminiscence, something the kunoichi didn't miss.

"You pervert! Why shouldn't I just let Kankuro pummel this kid while I murder you?" she yelled at him.

"Temari, you shouldn't use our names so lightly in a foreign village!" Kankuro accused, causing the now revealed Temari to deadpan as he had just done the same thing.

"I feel like I'm a third wheel here and I'm supposed to be the main event." Naruto stated, coughing down a laugh.

Temari and Kankuro both turned to him with threatening expressions at this assertion.

"Oh yeah, well, what makes you main event-worthy then?" Temari challenged.

"Well, it could be the exploding tag my clone just put on your ass. Or it could be the exploding tag on the kid, either of which you move to check and I'll detonate." Naruto threated, causing Temari, Kankuro and Konohamaru to all pale as one.

"You wouldn't blow up the kid, you leaf pansy! You can't threaten us that easily!" Kankuro yelled, still rather unsure. Temari now afraid to check if there was an exploding tag on her rear-end of not.

"Kono?" Naruto questioned, prompting him.

"Please do as he says, he really would blow me up just to make a point!" Konohamaru screamed, making Kankuro and Temari feel more threatened.

"Alright, I'm putting him down, there's no need to get violent" Kankuro said in what he hoped was a disarming tone.

Naruto gave him a bright smile at that.

"See, that wasn't so difficult, was it? See how easy it is for us all to be friends? I think we should celebrate this special moment we've shared together." This comment caused Konohamaru, Temari and Kankuro to all face-fault as one.

"Now, go home Kono, we'll catch up later." Not needing any further pre-empting, Konohamaru ran away as fast as he could.

"So, was there really an exploding tag on the kid or on my ass?" Temari asked, feeling slightly less threatened now that Naruto seemed less hostile with the kid out of the picture.

"No, of course not, I wouldn't do something so nasty as stick a tag on a kid or to a foreign kunoichi's firm ass in my own village." Temari lit up with a blush at this, unsure whether to feel flattered or angry.

"I knew you leaf shinobi were pansies, I might just take my revenge on you for that little stunt." Kankuro further threatened.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Naruto stated simply, causing both Kankuro and Temari to flinch slightly.

"Why not? Without your exploding tags, there's nothing to fear from you" Kankuro asked more than stated.

"Maybe, but I never said there was no exploding tags, just that they weren't on your sister's ass or on the kid." With that threat, they both paled slightly but felt more confident than before since his earlier ploy had been a bluff.

"You're both looking a lot less afraid of me. That's a shame. I guess the tag on your fan, Temari, and on the back of your neck, Kankuro, aren't threatening enough for you? Go ahead, I'll let you check them." Naruto revealed, prompting them both to check said places.

Kankuro froze upon feeling a piece of paper on the back of his neck while Temari paled dramatically on seeing there was in fact a tag on the handle of her fan.

"Now that you're all nice and afraid of me again, how about we be friends? Agree that you won't threaten any more residents here and accept that I defeated you without even moving from this spot and then we can all walk away in one piece."

Knowing they had no choice in the matter, they both got on their knees and surrendered, begrudgingly saying they'd be friends to placate him.

"Temari, Kankuro, you're an embarrassment." A voice stated from a tree behind Naruto, causing the other two sand shinobi to pale.

"Uh, Gaara, this isn't what it looks like" Kankuro tried to backtrack.

"Hey, Red. Or should I call you Gaara now? I'll ask that you stay in the tree since my clone whispered to the kid to stick some tags on there on his way home." Gaara looked down at the tree to see that there was in fact tags on the tree that looked as though they'd been thrown on to there.

"How many explosives does one man need?" Temari questioned, a shocked expression on her face.

"Art is an explosion." Naruto stated simply, prompting a sneeze from a certain blond-haired member of Akatsuki.

"What's your name?" Gaara questioned from the tree, wondering who this opponent whose blood his 'mother' cried for was.

"Uchiha Sasuke." Naruto stated shortly, drawing wide-eyed expressions from Kankuro and Temari.

'Wait, he did all of that without using the famed Uchiha Sharingan? I thought all Uchiha had black hair though' they both thought, unaware that Naruto was using someone else's name.

"I see. Well, Uchiha Sasuke, I'll look forward to facing you in the Chunin Exams." Gaara stated, drawing a nod and a smirk from Naruto.

"Same here. Hey, Temari, no hard feelings. You threatened the kid, I gave you a spanking, I'd say we're even, right?" Temari glared at him lightly for his remark.

"Also, whatever you eat, keep eating it, it's definitely doing your figure a favour." Naruto complimented, drawing a blush from the Suna kunoichi.

"Kankuro, please stop stealing your hot sister's makeup, she wears it so much better." Naruto said, turning to walk away, completely missing the furious expression on Kankuro's face, as well as the amused blushing face of Temari.

As he walked away, all the tags he had planted disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

 _ **Chunin Exam Stage One:**_

Naruto headed into the building Shikaku had told him to go to for the first stage. On his way in, he bumped into Kakashi.

"Oh, good, you're here. If even one of you hadn't shown up, the whole team would've been unable to enter the exam." Kakashi said chidingly, prompting Naruto to scoff. As if he'd ever run away from a challenge he could win.

Since having actual teachers in the form of Anko and Shikaku, Naruto had lost all respect for his previous sensei. Having taught them nothing but teamwork exercises, it was, in Naruto's own opinion, entirely Kakashi's fault that they were so unprepared for their opponents in Nami No Kuni.

While Naruto was aware that he had been the one to kill Sakura, he blamed Kakashi for failing to prevent it.

"Sasuke and Kabuto are waiting for you upstairs." Kakashi informed Naruto, before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Naruto proceeded up the stairs until he saw room 201, though he noticed a Genjutsu had been put in place to make it say 301. He was just going to continue onwards until he saw Tenten there.

He approached her quietly until he was stood directly behind her, deciding to help her out.

"You do know this is a Genjutsu, right Ten-chan?" Naruto whispered, hoping to do his friend a favour. Tenten was startled at his approach and turned to him.

"I know, we're trying to trick other teams into believing this is the real 301" Tenten informed him, making Naruto wonder why he hadn't caught on to that.

"Oh, okay. I'm heading up now, do you want to come with me?" Naruto asked her.

Tenten was about to refuse his invitation when another voice piped up.

"Hey, Sasuke-kun, who is that floozy with you?" At this, Tenten was unsure who the blond kunoichi who had called out was talking to, though she deadpanned when Naruto almost fell to the floor crying from laughter.

"Oh, hey Temari-chan. Didn't you realise I gave you a fake name?" Naruto asked, causing Temari to look offended.

"Wait, you did? What's your real name then, also who is this chick with you?" Temari questioned rapidly.

"Uzumaki Naruto, at your service, Temari-chan." Naruto said shortly, Tenten's eye twitching at what she perceived to be another kunoichi trying to hook up with Naruto.

"Actually, Naruto-kun, I think I will accompany you." Tenten said, wrapping her arm around his right arm to get him to escort her.

"Oh, I thought you would offer to escort me, _Na-ru-to-kun?"_ Temari emphasised, wrapping her arm around his left arm.

"Do I not get any say in this?" Naruto interjected.

"NO!" Both girls yelled, glaring at him, prompting Naruto to back down.

"Well, alright then. Shall we?" Naruto said, prompting the two girls to pull/drag him up the stairs, their teammates following behind, knowing better than to provoke a kunoichi's wrath by now.

Except Gaara, who just didn't care.

As they headed up the stairs, all eyes in the room turned to glare at Naruto as they saw him walk in with a kunoichi on either arm.

Sasuke's eye twitched at what he perceived as a slight from the dobe somehow. Thinking that Naruto must've been more interested in kunoichi than he was in becoming a Chunin.

Naruto approached the group consisting of Sasuke and Kabuto, as well as the members of Teams 8 and 10.

"Ah, Naruto-kun, you're here. I've got these ninja info cards that I thought some of us might want to see to get some knowledge on the competition. Just ask and I can give you some information."

As Kabuto started explaining how his ninja info cards worked, he talked about all the villages that were in attendance. After he mentioned the Hidden Sound, Otogakure, a shinobi from that village decided he was belittling them and decided to attack Kabuto.

Not that he got far as he stepped in a rope trap and found himself hanging upside-down from the ceiling. Everyone looked, wondering how and when that rope trap got there, while Tenten and Temari just turned to Naruto and asked the question that Shikamaru was thinking.

"How did you set that trap up with none of us seeing, while we were holding your arms?"

Naruto gave a knowing smirk, letting the others know that it really had been him that set the rope trap, but opted not to explain how he'd set it up.

His eyes scanned over the Konoha Genin that he didn't know very well.

Kiba looked pretty much the same as he did in the academy, plus Naruto had researched (as a suggestion from Shikaku) the commonly known clan abilities, so he had a fair grasp of what Kiba's strength would be like.

Hinata looked positively murderous at that moment in time. She kept glancing at Tenten and Temari hanging off him, then glancing down at a kunai in a fashion that was even making _him_ uncomfortable, which said a lot after training under Anko. He wasn't able to glean too much about the Hyuuga as they were a very secretive clan, but he'd learned that her Byakugan and Taijutsu style that involved closing chakra points were a force to be reckoned with.

Chouji looked as friendly as ever. Though they'd never really been friends per se, Naruto felt that Chouji was a kind soul and felt no dislike towards him. As an Akimichi, a lot of his techniques, like Kiba's, were common knowledge and Naruto had already prepared countermeasures in his mind in case he had to fight the Akimichi heir.

Ino seemed like she had changed the most out of all of them, Naruto included. Since Sakura's death, Ino had thrown herself headfirst into training. She'd realised the true dangers of the shinobi world when she'd lost her best friend so soon after they'd all left the academy. She'd also resolved herself to become strong enough for both herself and for Sakura. Her gear consisted of a lavender crop top, mesh elbow and knee coverings, a short purple skirt with shorts underneath, plus black sandals (think Ino's appearance in Naruto Shippuden).

Neji seemed a lot like Hinata, though he couldn't help but notice that Neji kept shooting glares off at Hinata. Neji gave off an air of arrogance, but Naruto felt that if they came to blows, that it would be his pride that led to his fall.

Finally, Rock Lee burned Naruto's eyes to look at. Between his horrifying green spandex, his eyebrows that looked as though if you gazed too hard into them, they might gaze back into you, and his frequent declarations about the power of youth, Naruto really hoped he wouldn't have to face off against Lee. Both because, as a Taijutsu specialist, he was Naruto's worst kind of opponent and because he was worried he might die of a brain aneurysm mid-battle.

Naruto couldn't help feeling he'd forgotten someone in that list but decided that since he couldn't think of who it could be, he may as well move on (poor Shino).

"All you kids shut the hell up!" An examiner loudly shouted, gesturing everyone to go into the room to start their first exam. "Someone cut that kid down" he stated as a side-note.

One of his teammates cut him down, causing him to knock his head against the floor and giving him a concussion.

Once everyone had entered the exam room, they drew lots for where everyone would sit. As Naruto drew number 53, he found himself sat next to Hinata and surrounded by Genin he didn't know.

After the examiner who had yelled introduced himself as Morino Ibiki and showed off his scars, Naruto couldn't help thinking he must be the Ibiki that Anko sometimes raved about.

Ibiki went on to explain the exam.

"There are ten questions, for a maximum of ten points. After 40 minutes, I'll present the tenth question, so you have until then to answer the previous nine. If you're caught cheating you lose two points, and if your total hits zero, you and your team fail."

'So, it's a system that encourages cheating then' Naruto thought to himself, reasoning that that's the only explanation for why you would only lose two points for being caught cheating and concluded that the goal is to cheat and not get caught.

Immediately after the test started, he started to notice people who had caught on using their shinobi abilities and/or kekkei genkai to cheat. Seeing some of the clever methods others had devised, especially when he spotted Tenten controlling a group of mirrors using ninja wire, he thought he'd have to do something harder to notice.

After making that decision, Naruto leaned back in his chair and relaxed for a while. When there was just under 10 minutes left of the exam, he noticed that one member of the sound team, the one who had been caught in his rope trap had finished his exam but had been caught cheating 4 times (because of his concussion), meaning he only had a maximum of two points left.

'Time to put my plan into action then.' Naruto decided. As one of the proctors passed him, he placed a light Genjutsu on the proctor. Ibiki smirked knowingly at the front of the room as he saw it happen.

Afterwards, the proctor walked up to the member of the sound team and took his paper from him.

"I saw you steal this from another examinee, you lose another two points, meaning you and your team fail the exam." Afterwards, the three sound Genin were dragged away, with the victim of Naruto's cheating shouting that he hadn't done anything.

Following that, the proctor then walked up to Naruto's desk and 'returned' his paper to him, Naruto thanking him quietly before dismissing the Genjutsu. Ibiki stood looking impressed at the front of the class.

'He got the answers and eliminated another team at the same time. This kid's vicious and cunning, he's already got my recommendation.' Ibiki thought to himself, unaware that Anko was his sensei.

Naruto had thought of a way to eliminate two of the other Konoha teams but opted not to do so as he didn't want to hurt Tenten by doing that or to make his peers hate him for the sake of an exam.

After a short while longer, the timer finally went off.

"Alright everyone, pencils down. It's time for the final question."

At this, everyone's attention snapped to Ibiki in anticipation of the final question.

"Now, you can choose whether or not you want to take the final question. However, if you choose not to take it, not just you, but also your teammates will fail the exam this year." Ibiki stated, drawing confusion from many of the Chunin hopefuls.

"Why wouldn't we take it then?" Temari called out loudly, voicing the thought that many were contemplating.

"If you choose to take the question and get it wrong, then you can never take the Chunin exams again." Ibiki explained, garnering horrified expressions from many of the candidates.

"You can't do that, there's lots of people here who have taken these exams before." A Genin spoke up, trying to deny Ibiki's proclamation.

"Well, that's because in those exams I wasn't in charge, but I am now. Anyone who has decided not to take the question, raise your hands."

Immediately, many hands rose in the air, the proctors counting them off and disqualifying those who had put their hands up and their teams.

'This is the clincher. I wonder if I can encourage anyone else to quit.' Naruto thought to himself, internally wondering how he could eliminate more of the competition. He casted Mugen: Narakumi no Jutsu (Demonic Hell Viewing technique) on a Kusa ninja, causing him to see him taking the choice and confining his team to being Genin forever.

That Genin immediately raised his hand, causing his team to forfeit. On their way out, the female member of their team glared at Naruto intensely.

Naruto wouldn't realise for a while that he'd just, by pure accident, foiled a large part of Orochimaru of the Legendary Sannin's plan.

Naruto noticed that Hinata was torn about whether to raise her hand, the Hyuuga heiress seeming more likely to let her team forfeit. Naruto let out a small sigh and decided he would do the girl a favour.

Hinata looked in confusion as Naruto handed her a small piece of paper.

Unfolding it gently, Hinata read the message that was written inside.

'Ten-chan and Temari-chan won't give up, will you?'

Naruto wasn't quite aware of the question he'd just posed to the young girl. He had just thought that the two girls he was close to were exemplary kunoichi and wanted to use them as motivation for Hinata.

Hinata, however, saw it as a challenge for Naruto's affections. To her, the note he'd given her may as well have said 'I know how you feel about me, but you have to be the strongest kunoichi to stand by my side' and so Hinata resolved herself to be stronger than any of the other girls in Naruto's life, not that she really knew how difficult that may later turn out to be.

Seeing her hesitation was gone, Naruto directed a smile at her. Internally, he admitted he was slightly impressed at how much resolve the girl seemed to have garnered from his note, especially as he'd always thought of her as a kind of quiet, withdrawn girl.

Seeing no other hands were going to be raised, Ibiki brought an end to the test.

"Those of you all still remaining-"

Everyone still sat held their breaths.

"-pass."

"WHAT?" was the synchronous reaction of the majority of the Chunin hopefuls.

"Essentially, the decision on whether or not to take the question was the question itself. Out in the shinobi world, sometimes you'll have to decide whether to continue with a difficult mission. It may put you and your teammates lives at risk, but that's what it means to serve a village. You have to be willing to risk it all to succeed." Ibiki explained.

Realisation adorned most of the candidates faces as the reasoning behind the test was revealed.

Naruto, however, was unfazed as he had been expecting this to be the outcome the whole time. Hinata was looking at him in wonderment, piecing together the fact that he'd seen through the test so easily.

At that moment, a shadow burst through the window, throwing two kunai into the ceiling. Hanging from those kunai was a banner that all the Genin read as they took in the figure in front of them. In large kanji, the banner read 'Second Chunin Exam Stage Proctor: Mitarashi Anko' and all the Genin were left gaping in shock. All except for one, that is.

Naruto had to physically restrain himself from laughing at the stunt his sensei had pulled.

"Oh, is this where you've been lately, sensei?" Naruto asked, all eyes in the room turning to him.

"Hey, brat! You're still here! Have you been keeping up with your training? Remember you owe me a week's worth of dango if you don't get to the finals." Anko casually conversed with Naruto, all the others in the classroom looking on in confusion.

"I've been training lots, sensei. Don't forget that when I wipe the floor with these clowns you owe me a week's worth of ramen." At this, both Naruto and Anko grinned in challenge while the others in the room sweat-dropped at being left out of the conversation.

"Moving on. Right, maggots! Be at the Forest of Death in ten minutes or you're out of the exam." Anko threatened them, causing an immediate panic in the room.

As Anko jumped out of the window, Naruto piped up as everyone was starting to move.

"I'm really sorry about this everyone, but I have to do whatever it takes to win." As everyone's eyes turned to him in confusion, Naruto revealed his masterpiece.

"I sent a clone ahead in the early hours of the morning, before any of you, so I knew which room we'd be in. Now, if you'd all kindly run your hands across the underside of your chairs." As they followed his instructions, many in the room were confused to feel paper there and immediately peeled it off to glance at it.

Meanwhile, Kankuro and Temari paled, having an inkling of where this was going.

"That's right, what many of you are foolish enough to be holding in your hands is an explosive tag. Meaning any of you so much as think of getting out of your seat and you'll be blown to kingdom-come." All of the Genin had expressions of shock/horror at this revelation.

"Naruto-san, this is most unyouthful!" Rock Lee exclaimed, others sharing similar sentiments that involved less 'youth.'

"Don't worry, Lee-san. All Konoha Genin are free to head out." In a hurry, all of the Konoha teams got up and rushed out of the door, shooting smirks and looks of gratitude at the blond on their way out.

Naruto noticed someone raising their hand and looked to see Kankuro's hand in the air.

"Yes, Temari's brother?" Temari snickered at this.

"My name is Kankuro, damn it!" Kankuro said with an angry expression.

"Alright, I'll take note that your name is Kankuro. So, what do you want, Temari's brother?" Temari was smirking and Naruto thought he could even see Gaara's lips twitching, though he was preparing to move anyway, regardless of Naruto's threats.

"We're your friends, right? Can we leave too?" Kankuro asked, ignoring Naruto's previous comment.

"Absolutely." Naruto stated, allowing the Suna trio to leave.

All the remaining Genin were furious at this point.

"Well, there's only 3 minutes left now, so only the best among you will make it anyway. Good luck. Ja ne!" Naruto said, disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Ibiki was impressed at the ruthless display that had prevented many of the candidates from progressing, all the while the real Naruto had likely never even been there.

Immediately, all the Genin got up as one and charged out the door, pushing and shoving each other in the faint hopes of reaching the second stage in time.

* * *

 _ **Forest of Death, Outskirts:**_

With only two minutes to go, Anko was curious of why only the Konoha Genin had arrived when a team from Suna turned up.

"What's taking everyone so long? Standards for Genin must've really gone down since I did my Chunin Exam" Anko remarked aloud.

"Well, proctor-san, Naruto-san trapped the majority of the teams in the classroom by planting explosive tags all around the room and only seems to have let the teams that are here free." Shino mentioned to their examiner.

"Absolutely magnificent, brat! I mean, the fallout with other villages will probably be a pain to deal with, but you've definitely done your sensei proud with that little trick." Anko said, ruffling Naruto's hair.

"Thanks, Anko-sensei. I just thought to myself 'how would Anko-sensei deal with a lot of other teams in a competition' and that's when it came to me to take out the teams before the real exam even begins." Naruto explained, garnering impressed looks from some of the other Genin, though others were looking at Anko in horror at what she had been teaching to have made the ever-cheerful blond so sadistic.

Anko grinned at what she perceived to be a demonstration of her great teaching abilities. 'Perhaps now Hokage-sama might promote me to Jonin rank.' For as hard as she worked, Anko was stuck at Tokubetsu Jonin and didn't seem likely to progress past it because of the cursed seal on her neck.

Within the last two minutes, three more teams managed to arrive, making it a total of eight teams participating. Anko grinned sadistically and denied a fourth team that arrived two seconds after the timer rang.

"Well, I was going to say that this next exam would cut your numbers at least in half, but it looks like blondie over here already one-upped me on that one, cutting twenty-four teams down to just eight. I'd be mad at the repercussions but I'm just so darn proud." Anko stated, wiping a budding tear of pride from her eye.

Naruto had a proud grin on his face from his sensei's praise. Most of the other Genin were deadpanning at the two of them.

"Right, I'm going to need all of you to sign these waivers saying that I'm not responsible for you if you die out there." Anko chirped creepily, causing more than a few of the Genin to question if they'd even survive to become Chunin.

After getting all the Genin to sign their waivers, it was time for the second round of the Chunin Exams to begin.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Thanks for reading Chapter Three. My updates won't always be this frequent, but I wanted to plough through the Chunin Exams ASAP so we can get on to bigger and brighter things. Yes, I had Naruto eliminate most of the competition early on. Yes, the sand siblings may have been able to escape, the main reason none of them moved was so that they didn't put any of the others in danger (I know Gaara doesn't care about them at this point, but he needs them alive so he can progress in the exam). Most of the other Genin in the exam (after the sound team was removed) were pitiful, hence how they were defeated by threats alone. And no, Naruto isn't going to win all his battles with exploding tags, this was just him cleverly making use of what he had on hand (since I mentioned he hasn't learned many ninjutsu and focused on Genjutsu.**

 **Review if you feel like it. Ja ne!**


	4. Chapter 4

Ripples and Consequences

Chapter 4: The Chunin Exams Pt 2.

* * *

 _ **Forest of Death:**_

"Right, so which of us is being team leader?" Naruto prompted his pseudo-teammates, having no idea of Kabuto's abilities and only limited knowledge of Sasuke's.

"I am, of course, dobe." Sasuke stated, taking command immediately.

Kabuto had no qualms with this, and Naruto decided that it would be best for team unity if he just went with the flow for the time being.

"Understood. Well then, taichou, what should we do?" Naruto asked, mock-saluting.

Sasuke rolled his eyes while Kabuto just looked amused at the interaction between the two.

"I don't know why I'm even dignifying you with a response. We'll head for the river, teams will likely gather there for food and drinkable water, so if we head upstream we should be able to catch some off guard." Naruto nodded, seeing the sense in the plan.

"Can I place some traps?" Naruto asked, the beginnings of a sadistic smile gracing his features.

"More explosive tags?" asked Kabuto, having witnessed the blond's earlier maniacal threats to the other teams.

At this, Naruto's trademark expression appeared, scratching his head sheepishly.

"Well, uh, I may have sort of accidentally used all my tags already." Both Sasuke and Kabuto gawked at the blond incredulously at that.

"This is the Chunin Exams, dobe! How could you not bring more exploding tags?" Sasuke yelled at the blond.

"In fairness, I didn't think I'd use so many on the way here" Naruto tried to defend himself, Kabuto and Sasuke still levelling him with disapproving gazes.

"Alright, I'm sorry! I brought plenty of shinobi wire though, along with a reasonable amount of kunai and some smoke bombs." Naruto stated, looking proud at the amount of other equipment he had brought, plus the sword hanging loosely on his back.

Sasuke shook his head, still incredulous at how ill-prepared Naruto was for the exams.

"There's no traps you could make with just that stuff that'd be damaging enough to deal with any of these teams, but that's what happens when _somebody_ gets rid of _all_ the easy opponents." Sasuke remarked, leaving Naruto looking even more sheepish.

Kabuto decided that was an opportune moment to put in his two-cents.

"If these exams are anything like the others I've been in, after this stage will be a tournament between the remaining Genin, so Naruto's little stunt will pay off more later on."

"Don't encourage the dobe, if his head gets any bigger, he won't be able to fit in the tower when we get another scroll." Sasuke asserted, provoking an annoyed expression from Naruto.

Naruto suddenly adopted a more serious expression, prompting his two teammates to do the same.

"Near the river, it's the sand team. I won't order you, teme, but I think we should save fighting them for the tournament, otherwise we might not be strong enough to get there." Sasuke looked offended at the suggestion that he couldn't defeat the team from Suna but decided there was no sense taking unnecessary risks when this likely wouldn't be their only battle.

Heading further upstream to get away from the Suna team, Kabuto decided to speak up.

"I think we could've taken them, Naruto-kun. Why did you suggest we retreat?" Kabuto asked, adjusting his glasses as he did so.

"Two of them, maybe. But that redhead even gives me the creeps. I put an exploding tag directly beneath him, and he looked at it as though it wouldn't even graze him if I had detonated it." Naruto let his sadistic persona drop for a moment, revealing a small amount of vulnerability at telling his 'teammates' he didn't think he could beat Gaara.

Kabuto paled slightly, while Sasuke just smirked at what he perceived to be weakness from the blond.

"Whatever, scaredy-cat. I think I see a team we could take." Sasuke gestured to some shrubbery, where Naruto and Kabuto almost immediately noticed Akamaru's white fur not at all blending in, giving Team 8's position away." Naruto nodded, though he felt bad that he may be taking away Hinata's chances right after convincing her to carry on.

Without a word, Sasuke shot a fireball at the shrubbery that Team 8 was hidden in, prompting a shocked reaction from Naruto, while Kabuto was trying hard to conceal a budding grin on his face.

"Teme! There's no need to try to kill them, they're just competition, not our enemies!" Naruto yelled at Sasuke, annoyed at the immediate level of violence.

Team 8 appeared almost unscathed, though Hinata's jacket tassels had caught fire, prompting her to throw her jacket off in panic.

Kiba immediately launched into a ferocious attack against Team 7, itching for a chance to beat Sasuke, who he still saw as being the strongest Genin in their year.

Kabuto and Sasuke quickly jumped back from the attack while Kiba dragged Naruto into taijutsu, seeing him as the team's weak link.

Naruto was unable to defend himself very well as he had one hand holding back a nosebleed while he tried to stay out of Kiba's reach.

* * *

"Holy cow, Hinata! What have you been eating that they got that big?" Naruto questioned her from across the clearing, causing Hinata to give him a questioning look.

In the background, Sasuke was sputtering with a mixture of shock and laughter.

Hinata turned to Sasuke, activating her Byakugan while wondering what Naruto was talking about.

Sasuke just made a small squeezing gesture at his chest, causing Hinata to look down at her own chest in confusion.

When Hinata looked down to realise she was only wearing a mesh undershirt and a vest-top underneath, barely concealing her breasts, the Hyuuga heiress blushed brightly, her eyes losing focus.

* * *

Sasuke almost felt bad as he rushed at her.

Only to be forced to dodge away as Shino intervened with a small swarm of his kikai insects.

"It would not be logical to stand still right now, Hinata-san. Why? Because we are in combat." Shino pointed out to the paralysed Hinata, hoping to get her back in to the fight.

It seemed to be working, until she looked in the direction where Naruto and Kiba were fighting to see Naruto's eyes still locked on her ample bust.

Flushing bright red, Hinata fainted on the spot.

At that moment, Shino realised he was at a disadvantage, Sasuke and Kabuto both moving to take positions on either side of the insect-user.

Kiba threw a punch at Naruto, while Akamaru jumped up to try to bite at the blond's wrist.

Naruto was recovering from his shock at knocking Hinata out just by looking at her, and was unable to focus, deciding to let his instincts kick in.

Unfortunately for Kiba, with Anko as the blond's sensei, his instincts were arguably deadlier than he was in a straight fight, especially as ordinarily Naruto would avoid any attacks that could deal lasting damage.

As Kiba and Akamaru synced their timing, Naruto grasped a senbon in each hand and coiled his muscles.

Akamaru got closest first, receiving a nasty roundhouse kick for his trouble and crashing into a nearby tree. This only fuelled Kiba's rage as he swiped his claw-like nails at Naruto, only to be spun around and kicked in the opposite direction.

He faintly registered a small pain in his lower back, but ignored it, determined to get some vengeance for his injured puppy.

That was his mistake.

Naruto waited as Kiba got in close, before grabbing his extended fist, pulling him in and kneeing him in the face, breaking his nose. He then swiped the dog-user's legs out from under him, leading to a horrific accident for Kiba.

Kiba face turned blue as his brain registered the pain of Naruto's two senbon, embedded in his rear end, stabbing inwards as he hit the ground. Kiba passed out from the pain almost immediately after.

Naruto looked down at his handiwork in honest shock, having fought entirely on instinct and achieving such a horrific result. He couldn't help but think that his sensei would be proud, possibly even more so if she knew his instincts had naturally gotten that sadistic.

Kabuto and Sasuke moved as one, planning to attack Shino when the Aburame heir held his hands up in surrender.

Both Kabuto and Sasuke looked confused, as the bug-user had been keeping the fight going in his favour, surprisingly, as he drained their chakra.

"As both of my teammates are unconscious, I see no need to further endanger our lives by fighting the three of you." Shino stated, gesturing to where Naruto was stood.

Both the blond's teammates shared expressions of horror as they saw Naruto had kicked Kiba so that he would be laying on his stomach, revealing to all the twin senbon that were still poking up from his rear.

"You're sick, dobe. Doing that to the guy and then kicking him while he's unconscious" Sasuke stated with a grimace.

Naruto was quick to defend himself.

"I'm only kicking him so that they won't go any further in that they are already, and so he doesn't choke if he's sick when he wakes up." Naruto explained, hoping to take some of the heat off himself.

Sasuke levelled him with a disgusted expression but otherwise said nothing. Kabuto looked slightly green, as his medical knowledge gave him far more awareness than his teammates had of what had likely happened.

Naruto distracted his teammates by turning his expression to Shino, prompting his teammates to do the same.

"So, where's your scroll?" Sasuke prompted, taking charge as the team's leader.

"It's under Hinata's shirt" Shino revealed, leading to a slight nosebleed from Naruto, and his two teammates to shake their heads at the blond.

"I volunteer as tribute!" Naruto stated far too loudly, causing all others present to cast glares at him.

Fortunately, before anything could become of it, Hinata began to stir.

Naruto wasn't sure how he should feel about the disappointment in his mind.

Shino called out to Hinata at that moment.

"Hinata-san, we have been defeated, and so I have offered to surrender our scroll. Why? Because it is unlikely we could defeat the three of them in our current condition." Shino explained, leading Hinata to nod hesitantly.

Hinata reached a hand down the back of the neck of her mesh shirt and pulled out the scroll.

Naruto didn't know whether to laugh or cry at how much he'd let his thoughts go to the gutter when the scroll was only in her collar.

Taking the scroll as gracefully as he could, which really wasn't very graceful at all, Naruto apologised to Hinata.

"I'm really sorry that we're taking you guys' scroll, but you're strong so if Kiba recovers any time soon, I think you'll still make it. I'm not apologising for what I did to him though, he wouldn't accept it anyway. Just tell him if he wants a rematch, I'll accept a challenge any time." Hinata gave a grateful nod and giggled lightly, her face slightly flushed.

"Count yourselves lucky, I've decided you're not worth the rope to tie up. We'd be at the tower long before you can come after us again anyway." Sasuke said condescendingly, though the others could see right through him.

"I see, thank you Sasuke-san" responded Shino, recognising that Sasuke was giving them a fair chance to try and pass the exam still, when he could just as easily take it away from them.

Sasuke let out a grunt of acknowledgement and turned to walk away, his teammates falling into line beside them.

Naruto turned for a moment to wave to Hinata, causing her to blush and wave shyly even though he'd just taken her team's scroll.

Sasuke stopped mid-step and called out behind him.

"You were a worthy opponent, Aburame-san. Get stronger and I'll fight you again anytime." Naruto was shocked to make out the ghost of a smile on Sasuke's face as he acknowledged Shino's abilities.

"Thank you, Sasuke-san. I'll be certain to keep your offer in the forefront of my mind." Sasuke nodded in assent and Team 7 left the clearing.

* * *

 _ **Forest of Death, Tower:**_

"I can't believe how easy that was." Tenten chirped happily, their team being the second to reach the tower. Neji had forewarned them that the team from Suna had arrived first and mysteriously advised his team not to head south near the river.

Tenten didn't dare ask, and Lee just thought his rival wanted to get to the tower as quick as possible.

Near the river, where Neji had warded them away from, laid the remains of a team from Kusa. Not that there'd be much left of them to identify.

"Careful, Tenten, this would be the logical place for a team to set an ambush where they could steal a full set of scrolls." Neji warned, not planning to let his guard down until this stage of the exam was completed.

"I know, I know. It's just that the rookie team with Asuma as their sensei felt far too easy to beat, even for us." Tenten remarked, Neji giving a slight nod in response.

"They put up a most youthful fight! It was only unfortunate for them that they ran into us so soon! But with this, their youth will shine even brighter in their next exams!" Lee exclaimed loudly, adding his own two cents on the situation.

While Neji didn't care one way or the other for most of the other teams, he acknowledged that it would be better for fellow Konoha shinobi to learn the taste of defeat without having to lose their lives.

As Neji had warned them, another of the Genin teams appeared, a team from Ame that they didn't recognise.

Unfortunately for that team, they didn't get the chance to ambush Team 9 as a kunai promptly entered their leader's skull from behind.

Neji levelled a questioning gaze at the offender, knowing with his Byakugan that he could be seen, even if his teammates didn't know what was going on.

Said offender raised a finger to his lips as if to shush the Hyuuga, just as a silver haired figure jumped out from the underbrush and assaulted one of the remaining Ame Genin, who were disoriented and in shock at the sudden death of their squad leader.

A direct application of a chakra scalpel across one of their chests ensured that the second Ame nin wouldn't live long enough to mourn his fallen comrade.

As Tenten recognised the newest member of Team 7, shinobi wire found itself wrapped around the final member of the Ame team, leaving Team 9 slightly stunned at how promptly an enemy team was dispatched by one of the rookie teams.

"Surrender your scroll and maybe I won't char you to cinders in that wire" the now-revealed Sasuke threatened, taking point in his team to retrieve the scroll from the Ame Genin.

Naruto chose this moment to drop down from the tree he had thrown the kunai from.

"Uzumaki, we didn't need your help to dispatch of such a weak opponent." Neji stated clearly, making his refusal to acknowledge their help clear.

"We weren't doing it for you." Naruto said simply, before turning to Tenten and grinning brightly.

"Hey, Ten-chan! How's it hanging?" Tenten almost facefaulted at Naruto's almost bipolar change in attitude between herself and her teammate.

"I'd say not too bad, but I shouldn't get friendly with the enemy who dropped in front of us." Tenten said, a warning and threat clearly laying in her words.

"Nah, we're not here for you guys. If you've already got two scrolls then just go for the tower, Sasuke and I want to fight you guys in the tournament in the next stage anyway." Naruto informed them.

Neji raised a brow at the information that had been freely given to him. 'So, it's either a series of individual battles or team battles is it? I see, I'll have to up my training.'

"Naruto-kun, your youth shines splendidly today! Though, killing a defenceless enemy is hardly what I would call youthful!" Lee said, a clear intent of challenge in his voice, whilst also acknowledging Team 7's skills.

"I want to fight you too, Lee." Naruto remarked simply, before waving the other team off.

Though Kabuto and Sasuke gave the blond disapproving gazes for his nonchalant attitude towards the hostile team, they still went along with his decision.

"Fine, there's no point picking more fights than we have to, we have both scrolls now anyway." Sasuke elaborated, leaving Team 9 wondering why they'd attack another team if they already had both scrolls that they needed.

"Am I being ignored here?" Piped up the Ame shinobi nervously, barely holding back from crying as his teammates were killed without even being able to defend themselves right in front of him.

"Just give us the scroll and I promise we'll let you live." Naruto assured, slightly alleviating the Ame shinobi's fears.

"Hey, dobe, who gave you the right to make that decision?" Sasuke questioned, pulling rank on the blond as their team captain.

"I did, Teme. If you've got a problem with that, save it for the finals, there's no point brawling on the home stretch." Sasuke grunted in response, deciding to let the blond do as he wished so long as they got what they came for.

Naruto prompted the Ame Genin for the scroll's location, to which the Ame shinobi, a well-disguised female he had just noticed, gestured to one of her teammate's corpses with her eyes.

Naruto nodded and took the weapons pouch from the corpse, retrieving the scroll in the process.

"It's legit, let her go, teme" Naruto stated, holding up the scroll for all to see.

Sasuke loosened the slack on the wire but delivered a chop to the back of the girl's neck, leaving her unconscious.

Though Naruto didn't approve, he didn't speak up against the decision either.

As they turned back to talk to Team 9, they noticed the other team had already departed without their notice. Except for Kabuto, who had kept quiet, preferring to observe his two teammates in relative silence.

'I need to work on my sensing' Naruto and Sasuke unknowingly thought in sync.

"How far do we need to go before she can see us?" Naruto asked, referring to the Hyuuga heiress.

"Not too far, I still can't believe I let you talk me into this." Sasuke complained lightly, annoyed at the fact he was wasting his time doing favours for others.

Naruto nodded and headed into where he thought Hinata would be able to see, flaring his chakra to attract her attention.

Once he thought Hinata had the idea, he hid the scroll in a hole in the bark of a tree, hoping the Hyuuga heiress would notice it, trying to make up a little for his earlier action.

After this was done, the team headed for the tower.

* * *

As it turned out, Naruto had done an even bigger favour for Team 8 than he realised. As Team 8, with a recovered but humiliated Kiba, arrived at the location Team 7 had just departed they happened upon the last Konoha team who had been planning to attack the source of chakra that had been flared.

As a consequence of not noticing the presence of Team 8, Shino's insect dispatched two of them quickly while Hinata was able to disable the other with her gentle fist, leaving the team unconscious while Kiba whined that he hadn't gotten to do any fighting.

This meant they were able to retrieve the remaining team's scroll, as well as the one that Team 7 had left for them, enabling them to head towards the tower with a full set of scrolls in hand.

They headed into the tower, being the last to arrive, though the proctors in the tower looked impressed.

* * *

"Even if it was only 8 teams remaining, all of you getting here within the first day attests to your skills." At this, the Konoha teams stood proudly while the team from Suna were largely unaffected.

Kiba also looked like he'd bitten into something sour at the mention of the 'skills' it had taken to get there, when he'd been little more than a liability to his team.

Anko then appeared with the other proctors, shooting a proud glance at her student that went unnoticed by the other proctors.

Though no words had been spoken between them, Naruto couldn't help but feel his chest swell with pride at the recognition of the person he considered to be his closest confidant.

Despite having friends the same age, and Iruka having been the first person to have truly acknowledged him, Naruto couldn't help but feel the most gratitude towards his sensei, Anko. Her shared experience of a burden you had no choice in, and scorn from the village for things beyond their control, had led to a bond of kinship between the two.

Though many were thankful that Naruto hadn't become quite as sadistic as Anko, even if he did seem to be emulating her more and more.

Many of them now saw Naruto as proof that with decent input from a sensei and a hard-work ethic, it was possible for even the dead-last of the academy to become a talented shinobi. Though in Naruto's case, he had both Anko and Shikaku to thank for his development.

With Anko training his skills, and Shikaku training his mind, Naruto had worked hard enough that both already recognised his skills as those of a Chunin, even before the exams.

After gathering all the Genin who were still in the tournament, while dispatching another squad of Chunin to retrieve the surviving Genin that were still in the forest, one of the proctors began to speak.

"My name is Genma, I'll be proctoring the next stage of your exams. We'd been expecting a preliminary tournament after we heard how many teams there were when the first stage ended, though after hearing that most of the Genin failed *cough* were made unable *cough* to attend the second stage, we've decided to forego the preliminaries."

Some of the Genin let off snickers at this and a lot of heads turned to Naruto, who scratched his head sheepishly in response.

"Anyway, it'll take time before the finals, so you all have a month to train and get ready for the finals. Your showing here will determine which of you are truly fit to become Chunin." Genma explained to the Genin, who were unsurprised, having expected such an outcome already.

* * *

As one, the Jonin responsible for each of the teams arrived.

Gai had a proud grin and was hugging Lee while yelling about 'the power of youth' much to the horror of all observers. Most notably Tenten, Neji, and Naruto, who all turned away to avoid the sunset they knew must have already appeared.

Neji saw that Naruto had turned also and gave an almost sympathetic expression, knowing full well the trauma that the blond was suffering from the sunset Genjutsu.

Kakashi was stood beside Sasuke, ruffling the Uchiha's raven hair, much to his annoyance.

Kurenai stood proudly among the other Jonin, the pride in her Genin team all too visible.

Baki merely gave a nod of acknowledgement to the Suna team, which they returned.

Shikaku approached Naruto and delivered a statement that the blond would be troubled by for the foreseeable future.

"Your parents would be so proud if they could see you right now, Naruto."

Although his training with Anko and Shikaku had been harsh and had often pushed him to his limits and beyond, he still struggled to maintain his composure at the revelation that Shikaku seemingly knew the identities of his parents.

Naruto, despite his shinobi training, approached the passive Nara and surprised him with a hug.

Shikaku looked stunned at the interaction, not having expected such a vulnerable expression from the blond. He looked at the boy who was hugging him in confusion, before noticing that Naruto had already let go and was smiling gratefully at him, his heart looking considerably lighter.

"Anko-sensei, get your butt over here!" Naruto called out, causing many heads to turn to him and to look between him and the Tokubetsu Jonin he had called, especially those who hadn't know he was her apprentice.

Anko almost looked unsure as she approached the blond, not having expected him to reveal to all that she had been training him.

When she got close, the blond hugged her far tighter than he had hugged Shikaku.

"Anko-sensei, can I officially become your apprentice?" His eyes looked up at hers, shining with hope. She was scared to see the expression on his face when she'd have to tell him that Tokubetsu Jonin couldn't officially take apprentices unless it was to train them in a specialism when her eyes met the Sandaime's.

Despite his age, he had clearly heard Naruto's question, and the vulnerability behind it had tugged at his heartstrings. 'I've let this boy down so many times before, I won't let him down this time.' Hiruzen thought to himself.

Hiruzen nodded to Anko, causing an expression of shock to appear on her face that Naruto mistook as rejection.

"I'm sorry Anko-sensei, I should've known better than to just ask out of the blue like that." Naruto said, his expression downcast.

"I was just surprised, brat. As far as I'm concerned, you're already my apprentice in all but paperwork." Naruto's face lit up with a smile so bright that everyone who saw it felt almost overwhelmed with emotion.

'What is this, mother?' Gaara questioned the demon in his gut, who for once was unable to give him an answer.

'I'm happy for you, Naruto-kun' thought Hinata, a smile on her features at seeing Naruto's real smile behind the false persona he was always wearing for once.

'Good for you, dobe.' Sasuke thought, turning away from the exchange with an almost-smile on his face.

'Naruto-kun, I wish you'd smile like that more often' Tenten couldn't help but think, her heart aflutter at the genuine emotions she was witnessing.

Gai and Lee were hugging each other whilst in tears.

After seeing everyone was watching, Anko lightly pushed him off her and Naruto schooled his features into a more neutral expression.

"What the hell are you all looking at?" Anko questioned loudly, causing everyone to turn away, and those who knew Anko well to gulp at the deathly expression on her face.

"You're gonna pay for ruining my rep later, brat." Anko warned, sending a shiver down Naruto's spine at the thought of the tortu- training he would be receiving over the next month.

With all of the main events that had transpired now concluded, the Hokage dismissed everyone to go and rest, before waking up ready to begin their training.

* * *

Anko stayed behind, hoping to speak to the Hokage about her new apprentice, who had just snuck away back to his apartment.

After everyone else had left besides the proctors, Anko decided to just bluntly ask her question.

"Hokage-sama, how come you let me take the brat as an apprentice? I thought Tokubetsu Jonin weren't supposed to be allowed to take apprentices?" Anko asked, curious on the Hokage's unusual decision.

"That's very true, and the council wouldn't be very happy if they heard I was showing favouritism towards our resident Jinchuriki by letting a Tokubetsu Jonin become his apprentice." Hiruzen expanded on what Anko had said, nudging her to ask more directly.

"Then why did you let me apprentice him?" Anko asked, causing a smile to grace the aged Hokage's features.

"I only said it would be a problem if a Tokubetsu Jonin took our local mischief-maker as an apprentice, not that it would be a problem if you yourself took him on as an apprentice, Jonin Mitarashi." Anko gawked incredulously as the latter part of the Hokage's statement, inferring that she had been promoted to Jonin, sunk in.

"Hokage-sama? I mean, I'm glad. Thrilled even. But what did I do to earn my promotion?" Anko asked, her experience of being betrayed leaving her unable to trust such one-sided kindness.

"I never do anything without a reason, Jonin Mitarashi, you'd do well to remember that. You might've thought you were being slick when you read through young Naruto's file which I had left open in my office before you decided to 'test' him, but I left it there with the intent of you seeing it." At this revelation, Anko's jaw dropped.

"There's no way you planned this that far ahead!" Anko all but yelled, leading the aged Hokage to tut in a teasing reprimand.

"No Hokage-sama this time? Goodness me, I didn't think your promotion would make you lose your respect for me." Anko backtracked immediately, not wanting to offend her village leader.

"I needed somebody who could understand young Naruto to watch over him and his training and thought this would be the perfect opportunity." Hiruzen explained patiently.

"Perfect opportunity for what, Hokage-sama?" Anko asked, almost fearing his answer.

"As you know, the village council has always been against promoting you to the rank of Jonin, and although it's not their decision ultimately, they do hold some clout. So, training Naruto was your test. Could you become a real sensei, unlike your own, and help a struggling Genin with a burden to become Chunin material in a short time?"

Anko's jaw was almost on the floor as she realised just how much she had danced the Hokage's beat as his plan was unfolded.

"I brought Shikaku in to help with the more _delicate_ matters of course, but told him to leave all of Naruto's shinobi training to you as part of your test, which you passed with flying colours by the way." Anko picked her jaw up off the ground and held an expression of pride.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama, I promise I won't let you down!" Anko knelt before her leader, her respect for him growing larger.

"I know you won't, I always knew you were more than ready to become a Jonin. As your Hokage, I congratulate you on a job well done. But, as Sarutobi Hiruzen, I can't thank you enough." Anko raised her eyes to meet his, a puzzled expression on her features.

"That boy deserves the world, but this village has hurt him, and my efforts to fix things only ever made it worse. Your test was only to train young Naruto, but for befriending him and becoming someone dear to him, I thank you from the bottom of my heart." Anko was unable to keep her expression neutral at this admission from the Hokage.

'No' she realised 'this confession from a man who has given everything for this village'.

Hiruzen's age showed far more prominently than usual on his features, which tugged at Anko's own heartstrings that the elderly Hokage had been suppressing his own feelings of wanting the help the blond to do his duty for the village.

"No, thank you, Hokage-sama. I think, deep down, I needed the brat as much as he needed me. He's a royal pain in my rear, but I couldn't have asked for a more devoted student." Looking around to see that the other proctors had left at some point during their conversation, Anko went a step further.

"Beyond that, I think I see him as being like an annoying little brother. You don't have to thank me for looking after the brat, Hokage-sama, even if you left a trail of breadcrumbs, I chose to follow them into the rabbit-hole." Anko couldn't help but smile at seeing the expression on Hiruzen's face.

In comparison to moments earlier, his expression looked younger than she had seen on his face since she herself was a child. It was as though a mountain of guilt had been lifted from his shoulders.

She couldn't have been much closer to the truth with that comparison.

Schooling his features into the expression the newly promoted Jonin was more used to seeing, Hiruzen dismissed Anko gently.

"You're dismissed Jonin Mitarashi. There'll be some _very_ important dignitaries coming to the finals, so your apprentice's skills will need to be above-the-bar."

Anko couldn't have been happier to agree.

* * *

 **Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed Chapter 4 of Ripples and Consequences. Feel free to review if you feel like it. Thank you to all of those who have left reviews so far, especially those of you kind enough to be giving me constant feedback. All of you are my motivation to keep writing.**

 **I have nothing against Kiba as a character in case anyone planned on flaming me for hating Kiba, I'm just setting the stage for the next act. Namely, the results of the Chunin Exams now that there are far different candidates.**

 **I know the more emotional and serious tone towards the end of the chapter is a surprise for many of you, but this had been my plan for Anko's character development since the first chapter.**

 **Thanks again to those who have enjoyed the story so far, Ja Ne!**


	5. Chapter 5

Ripples and Consequences

Chapter 5: The Chunin Exams Pt 3.

* * *

 _ **Konoha Hot Springs:**_

"Man, why'd Jiji send me all the way out here?" Naruto questioned aloud, thinking he'd prefer to be spending his time training.

It had been three days since the conclusion of the second stage of the Chunin Exams, and Naruto was eager to start his training.

Despite his anticipation, he'd seen very little of Anko since her promotion to Jonin, though he'd been assured by Shikaku that she'd be back before long to train him for the finals.

Naruto had mainly spent the last few days lounging about or playing shogi with either Shikaku or Shikamaru, though he'd also had a game with Asuma. Team 10's sensei was tearing his hair out in frustration when he'd found himself unable to beat the blond.

Shikaku hadn't been telling the blond how far he'd been progressing mentally or in his ability to prepare tactics, mostly because he didn't want to inflate the blond's ego.

Shikamaru, however, had no qualms challenging Naruto to rematches almost as often as the blond challenged him. For Shikamaru, it was refreshing to face an opponent that he would neither win against every time, nor lose against every time (his father).

After the first three days had passed, Naruto had finally gotten fed up of his sensei not being around and decided to approach the Hokage. For his trouble, he was just left with the cryptic message of 'I hear the village hot springs are a good place to visit when you hit a roadblock.'

Deciding to follow the only decent advice the sensei of the disbanded Team 7, Kakashi, had given him, Naruto decided to look underneath the underneath and go visit the hot springs.

As he approached the establishment, Naruto noticed an odd figure standing on top of what looked to him like a very large frog, gazing into what was clearly the women's side of the hot springs.

Having trained with Anko since returning from the fateful mission to Nami no Kuni, Naruto had been taught how to deal with those who 'don't respect the fairer gender' and decided to enact karma's will on the pervert.

Naruto created a kage-bunshin and had it approach the pervert to have a conversation with him, meanwhile the original started weaving handsigns for Mugen: Narakumi no Jutsu.

Approaching the strangely dressed pervert, the shadow clone decided to fulfil its role as a distraction.

"Hey, old man, you should stop peeping on ladies!" Exclaimed the clone, prompting the 'old man' to turn around to exact vengeance on the person who would dare disturb his 'research.'

"Oh, you're just a brat. Go away brat, I can't have you alerting these fair ladies that I'm here" the man stated, causing a tic mark to appear on the blond's head.

"I'm not a brat, damn it! Stop being such a pervert!" Called the shadow clone, successfully keeping the man distracted.

"Alright, kid. I guess I'll introduce myself. Known far and wide as the Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, I strike fear into the hearts of men, while stealing the hearts of all the fair maidens worldwide! And I'm not a pervert, I'm a super pervert! My name is Jiraiya!" Introduced the now-revealed Jiraiya, striking a pose.

Both the shadow clone and the original Naruto gawked in shock at the realisation that this was one of the Densetsu no Sannin, having been drilled on their identities by Shikaku.

"There's no way you're one of the Sannin, you're just a pervert!" Was the indignant cry from the shadow clone, causing a tic mark to form on Jiraiya's head.

"I told you, brat, I'm a super pervert! Now get lost." Jiraiya said, deciding inwardly to test the blond son of his previous apprentice, somehow stopping the nostalgic pain he was feeling from appearing on his face.

Unluckily for the toad sage, Naruto had already casted his Genjutsu, causing him to decide there was no longer a need to keep the man distracted.

"If you say so, ero-sennin" said the blond with a mock-salute, disappearing in a burst of smoke.

Jiraiya was gobsmacked at how casually the kid had just left, realising he would have to go look for him to be able to test him to see if he'd be a worthy apprentice.

"But first, I guess I still have time for a little more research" he said aloud, accompanied by a perverted giggle.

Naruto almost felt bad for casting his Genjutsu, knowing full well what was about to happen.

Jiraiya looked back over the wall into the ladies' side of the hot springs, only to be met with the most mentally scarring sight a man could ever witness.

In front of him stood a stark-naked Gai and Lee, hugging and crying while yelling about youth, the picture completed with Sunset Genjutsu™.

Jiraiya let out an effeminate scream of shock, his eyes rolling into the back of his head as he frothed at the mouth. But of course, this wasn't to be the end of his suffering.

Hearing the scream, some of the still towel-clad women appeared outside to find the renowned pervert laying on the ground and concluded he had been spying on them.

Naruto winced as he heard the screams from the man who had curled up into the foetal position as the women kicked and stomped all over him. Even the blond wasn't sure whether the pervert had honestly deserved that. Though, in his mind, this clearly proved that the man couldn't really be the toad sage, as there was no way such a powerful shinobi would fall for a trick like that.

Still, he resolved himself to do what needed to be done. Signalling an ANBU he had spotted on patrol, Naruto informed the masked shinobi of the man's spying in the women's hot springs and how he was disturbing the police, prompting a squad of ANBU to arrest the man and take him to the Hokage.

Unknowingly, the blond had impressed the cat-masked ANBU with both his honesty about the man's perversion, and his ability to catch such a renowned shinobi in a Genjutsu (after she discovered it was Jiraiya, the toad sage).

Still uncertain why his Jiji would've sent him to the hot springs, Naruto decided to make the most of it and went for a soak in the men's side of the springs.

* * *

 _ **Hokage's Office:**_

Sarutobi Hiruzen was hard at work completing the paperwork for the Chunin Exams, of which there was a very large stack.

He was honestly floored at how many of these were complaints from other villages about how one Genin had eliminated all their teams.

Still, no rules of the exams had been breached and no deaths had occurred, so there were no grounds on which he could punish the blond even if he had planned to, which he didn't.

For as much as Hiruzen had faith in the abilities of the next generation, and as proud as he was of his pseudo-grandson's abilities, he felt that Genin who were being considered for Chunin shouldn't have been so easy to dispatch with mere threats and explosive tags.

As far as the reports from the proctors indicated, almost none of the teams even tried to take the risk of escaping from the blond, which indicated to Hiruzen that they didn't have the determination to make difficult decisions on a mission, meaning they were unworthy to become Chunin, intervention or otherwise.

While he was thinking this, there was a knock at the door.

'Odd, I didn't have any appointments booked for this time, did I?' He wondered to himself whilst gesturing one of his ANBU to allow the visitor to enter.

At the door was another squad of his ANBU, detaining a very familiar man with chakra restraints.

Hiruzen massaged his temples before resolving himself to find out what had brought about this situation.

"What have you done this time, Jiraiya?" he asked, causing many of the ANBU to pale under their masks as they realised just who it was that they had taken into their custody.

After a re-telling from Jiraiya, minus the Genjutsu from Naruto as Jiraiya had been unaware of it happening, the cat-masked ANBU finished the story.

"After that, Genin Uzumaki-san reported seeing Jiraiya-sama, though he seemed unaware of his identity, was spying on the ladies in the hot springs and we took it upon ourselves to bring the offender to you, though we wouldn't have intervened if we'd known it was Jiraiya-sama." For a moment, there was a tense silence.

Followed by Hiruzen falling out of his chair from laughter, tears of mirth in his eyes at the effects of the Genjutsu that had been casted on his student. He inwardly thought that it was a fate he wouldn't even wish on his treacherous student, Orochimaru.

"Just like his mother. Oh kami, I needed that." Hiruzen stated, causing Jiraiya to gape like a fish as the implications of what he said sunk in.

"You mean that brat did this?" Jiraiya cried indignantly. Hiruzen couldn't help but think it did his ANBU credit that he didn't hear any of them laughing, even if he knew they would likely all go home and keel over laughing about it when they were off-duty.

Ignoring his student's question, mostly because he knew he would likely never stop laughing if he didn't, Hiruzen turned to the cat-masked ANBU.

"Neko, what did you think of our young Uzumaki?" Asked the Hokage, slightly surprising the ANBU with his question, though she kept her composure steady.

"Honestly, Hokage-sama, if he passes the Chunin Exams he has my recommendation for ANBU. Even if Jiraiya-sama would argue otherwise, it's entirely possible in this scenario that Uzumaki-san could've potentially assassinated one of our most powerful shinobi with the use of a D-rank Genjutsu." Many of the ANBU present in the room were impressed by this evaluation of the blond's skills.

Hiruzen nodded, having also realised the implications of the feat the blond had pulled off.

"What makes it worse is that I doubt he even thought about the implications of his actions. Regardless of the finals, I believe it would be unwise to keep young Naruto at Genin rank." Hiruzen said, letting his words hang in the air.

"Alright, Neko, you can release my foolish student." Hiruzen prompted, causing said ANBU to release the restraints with a bow to her Hokage.

Jiraiya almost fell but caught himself and tried to look dignified, though nobody in the room would likely ever be able to forget the humiliation the Sannin had suffered to a mere Genin.

"Jiraiya, I'll be expecting you to up your training. As skilled as Naruto-kun is, this is poor form from you." Hiruzen criticised, causing Jiraiya to wince slightly as he realised he had indeed messed up.

"Gomen, sensei. I didn't expect the brat to be so skilled, his files only have his academy records and first mission details in, none of which indicated to me that he was more than standard Genin level." Jiraiya tried to justify, slightly placating Hiruzen.

"Then, my student, I hope this teaches you the valuable lesson to never judge a book by its cover." Jiraiya winced at the slight, realising the irony.

"Do you think he'll need my training, sensei?" Jiraiya asked, hoping for a chance to spend time with his Godson, but not currently seeing how his training could complement the blond's skillset.

"I'll leave that to your judgement, Jiraiya. Though I believe he has a vested interest in learning Fuinjutsu." Hiruzen explained, much to Jiraiya's relief. Jiraiya was internally glad that Naruto had an interest in the art that both of his parents had specialised in.

Dismissing the ANBU squad with a wave, Hiruzen decided Jiraiya had learned his lesson on this matter, though he would make sure Naruto received praise for his (unknowing) achievement.

"I think I can at least start him on the basics of Fuinjutsu, summoning and start him on my Taijutsu style before the finals, sensei." Jiraiya said, hoping Naruto would benefit from his tutelage, even if part of his mind wanted petty vengeance for what had just happened to him.

"Feel free to start him on Fuinjutsu, but don't pressure him to take the toad summoning contract, as I already have something in mind for him. Sadly, I don't think your particular Taijutsu style would be much use for Naruto-kun, as the style he is learning from Anko is mainly focused around flexibility and deception."

Jiraiya paled in realisation as he heard the name 'Anko' in the sentence.

"Is that where he learned to be so vicious? Sensei, what were you thinking?" Jiraiya questioned, frantic about the 'corruption' of his potential future apprentice.

"I was thinking he needed a figure who would be there for him and who could train him to his potential, I also assigned Shikaku to train him in the other aspects of the shinobi arts and report back to me so there was never any risk." Hiruzen explained.

Though Jiraiya had no prejudices against Anko, seeing the person past the cursed seal, he felt she wasn't the most stable minded individual to be training the next generation. Hearing that Shikaku was also training the blond assuaged many of his fears.

"I think I need an idea of his actual skillset, sensei." Jiraiya prompted.

"I was wondering when you'd ask."

* * *

 _ **Nara Clan Grounds:**_

Naruto was locked in an intense game of shogi with Shikamaru. Over the recent weeks, the two of them had become fast friends. Though Shikamaru was a little bitter over his team's failure in the Chunin Exams, he still wished Naruto luck in the finals, promising to attend with his father.

"Ne, Shikaku-sensei?" Naruto called.

"What is it, Naruto?" His Jonin sensei replied, mostly focused on watching the two Genin's match.

"I've been wondering, are we going to be doing anything other than playing shogi? I mean, I enjoy the game, but I need to learn other stuff for the finals, right?" Naruto asked, hoping to get some actual training in today.

"You still haven't realised what this training is, Naruto?" Shikaku asked, prompting the blond to think about the training he had received from the elder Nara so far.

Seeing that the blond was drawing blanks, Shikamaru decided to add his two cents.

"It's tactical training, Naruto. I don't know why, but my dad seems to think you're a lot smarter than first impressions would suggest." Shikamaru inputted, hoping to provoke a reaction from the blond.

Naruto was honestly clueless on what Shikamaru was implying. Though it could be said that he was becoming a lot smarter, he still missed a lot of social cues in conversation.

Shikamaru couldn't tell if Naruto was the idiot he acted like, or the genius his father praised him as. He often didn't think things through and got himself into trouble, but then he'd unexpectedly get himself out of trouble with strategies that required a much higher level of thought.

Releasing a sigh, Shikamaru gave up on the topic for now. Naruto, unaware of the thoughts raging in his friend's head, decided he must be missing something pretty big to have gotten Shikamaru interested in him.

"Checkmate" Naruto declared, causing both Naras to look astounded.

"How did you corner me like that?" Shikamaru asked, unsure of how he had been defeated. Shikaku had seen the way that Naruto could win but had deemed the moves that were doing so to be more chance than actual planning, until Naruto had capitalised.

"I baited you to make an aggressive advance so that you wouldn't notice my 'bad moves' surrounding your king." This revelation caused Shikamaru to gape, while Shikaku had a calculating expression on his face.

Deciding he'd played enough matches with the two for the day, Naruto waved goodbye politely and left. Though he debated going to say goodbye to the matriarch of the house, he thought to himself that he'd likely be back before long anyway to pester Shikaku for more training.

Although, Shikaku's wife, Yoshino, was terrifying in Naruto's opinion. She was the kind of woman where you couldn't help but like her, but it'd be unwise to forget your fear of her.

Naruto could almost understand why the two Nara males he was acquainted with thought women were so troublesome. Almost.

'I need a sparring partner, I can't just not train because Anko-sensei isn't around. She'll put me through hell when she's back otherwise.' Shuddering at that thought, Naruto decided he should try to find someone his age who could serve as a good sparring partner.

'Sasuke? No, he wouldn't train with me anyway. He'd be too worried about revealing his skills before the finals.' Often, the blond couldn't help thinking about his surviving teammate from his brief time as a member of Team 7.

Though their time together hadn't been long, and they'd barely been friends, Naruto couldn't help feeling like he was often the only one who understood how Sasuke was feeling.

It was a shame Sakura's death had driven a wedge between them.

Naruto had avoided thinking too much about Sakura's death. Though he'd started blaming himself initially, Anko had quickly beaten his self-doubt out of him, saying that he was too young to learn to master the Kyuubi's chakra, especially as he'd only learned about it just before that fateful mission.

Though Naruto regretted Sakura's death, he felt that Team 7 was a team that wasn't meant to work, a sentiment that he unknowingly shared with Sasuke.

While Naruto didn't think he was deserving of the title of 'dead last' in the academy, he recognised that his skills had been far below most of his clan-heir peers when he was fresh from the academy, which led him to the question that he couldn't grasp an answer to.

'Why would you pair the rookie of the year with the dead last? That doesn't increase the chance of a successful team, it just ups the odds of losing that academy year's most talented Genin as his teammates dragged him down.'

Although the same shouldn't be said of the kunoichi of the year, Naruto couldn't help but feeling the fangirlish tendencies of many of the girls in his class had made them a liability to any shinobi team.

Realistically, Sakura and himself were just dead weight for Sasuke when they first left the academy. While that thought stung, and didn't ring true anymore, it left him wondering why such an unbalanced team would be formed.

Naruto resolved that if he ever became Hokage, or ever led any large group of people, he'd do his utmost to avoid decisions that were likely to lead them to early deaths.

As Naruto looked around him, he realised he'd somehow wandered his way to training ground nine, where he could see Lee and Gai sparring while Tenten was doing target practice throwing weapons at the two of them while they fought.

He made his presence known and approached slowly so that the team wouldn't mistake him for an enemy shinobi.

Lee and Gai stopped their sparring while Tenten greeted the blond.

"Naruto-kun, have you come to join our youthful training?" Lee questioned loudly, causing the blond to backtrack, hoping to avoid being dragged into the horror that they called 'training.'

"'fraid not, Lee. I was looking for your other teammate, but it doesn't look like he's here." Naruto explained, all three of the others looking at him curiously.

"What do you want with Neji?" Tenten asked, suspicious of his motives.

"I'm looking for a sparring partner who would complement my Taijutsu style, but I need to keep the amount of people who see my style as low as possible and thought Neji would be my ideal training buddy." Elaborated the blond, causing shock to the other members of Team 9.

"If it's Taijutsu, Naruto-kun, I'm sure I could offer you some advice?" Gai offered, interested to see the style that Naruto claimed to be working on.

"Thanks, Gai-sensei, but I think the Hyuuga gentle fist would be the style I'd benefit more from training with. My style is largely based on flexibility and staying in my opponent's blind spots, so I don't think our styles would mesh well in regular sparring. If I train with Neji, I can train my Taijutsu while having much less of a blind spot to hide in than usual, so it'd be good for both of us." Gai looked shocked at the well-thought out explanation.

"That idea sounds most youthful, Naruto-kun. Neji-kun should be at his clan's training grounds, so that's where you should go to try to convince him." Gai said, inwardly hoping that his student would be open to the idea, as he had yet to open up to his team.

Naruto thanked the team for their help, before wandering off to the Hyuuga clan grounds.

After a short while of walking, Naruto arrive at the Hyuuga clan grounds. Trying not to think about his last interaction with Hinata, or her amazing kn-

'No! Bad Naruto!'

He stopped at the gate where one of the guards greeted him.

"What do _you_ want?" Asked the member of the branch clan of the Hyuuga, having no intention of helping him any more than he had to.

"I was hoping to see Neji, is he here?" Although surprised at the question, as most visitors who came to the grounds only came to visit the head of the house, Hiashi, or either or his daughters, he was still uncertain whether he should allow the blond to enter.

"I'll send someone to go fetch him, stay right here." Warned the guard. Naruto nodded, realising it was all the help he was going to get.

After a few minutes, Neji arrived with another member of the branch house.

Naruto couldn't help but notice that Neji looked a lot worse for wear, having worked himself into the ground training. His headband still tied tightly around his forehead, though Naruto wondered if he had the same mark on his forehead that he could make out on one of the other branch members.

"What do you want, Uzumaki?" Questioned Neji, curious on why the blond would seek him out.

"Can we talk about it somewhere a little more private?" Naruto asked, hoping he wouldn't have to explain his purpose to the branch guards in front of him, not wanting to have to put any trust in them.

"Fine. Whilst I wash up, decide on a suitable location, Uzumaki." Neji walked away haughtily, leaving Naruto a minute to think.

After Neji returned, the two departed the Hyuuga clan grounds and headed to training ground seven, Naruto remembering that Kakashi had said he would be training Sasuke outside of the village to keep his training a secret.

Once they arrived there, Neji turned to Naruto, wanting to know why he'd been called out.

"What do you want from a lowly branch member such as myself, Uzumaki? I'd have thought that since you are friends with Hinata- _sama_ that you'd have no need to associate yourself with a lower branch member like myself." Neji said, spite ebbing into his voice at the emphasis placed on Hinata's title.

Realising there was a story there but feeling he didn't really have the right to ask about it right now, Naruto decided to get straight to the point.

"I was looking for a sparring partner, and I thought our styles would complement each other well if we trained together." This caused Neji to raise a brow.

"What do I have to gain from such an arrangement? Further, why wouldn't you make this offer to the Hyuuga that you're friends with?" Neji prompted, seeking an ulterior motive.

"My Taijutsu style is based around flexibility and stealth, which would make it good for helping you to train your Byakugan while I train my fighting skills, and I didn't really want to train with Hinata." Naruto explained.

Neji's expression became smug, smirking at what he had interpreted as Naruto believing Hinata to be weaker than him.

"Ah, so you came to who you thought to be the stronger Hyuuga rather than the heiress? A wise decision, Uzumaki. Perhaps you're not the fool I thought you were." Neji said, sneering in derision at the word heiress, clearly believing Hinata unworthy of the title.

Naruto didn't quite grasp what Neji meant but could recognise the complement and figured that meant Neji was open to training with him.

"Right. So, do you want to train together? Of course, we'd have to agree to keep all the other's abilities secret, even from our teammates, otherwise this doesn't benefit either of us." Neji agreed with Naruto's sentiment, deciding that it would be to his benefit to have a sparring partner for the month of training, and possibly beyond that if it turned out to be a beneficial arrangement.

"Fine, Uzumaki, for the time being this arrangement seems to work for me." Neji stated amicably, willing to try to be more tolerant of the blond since they would be training together.

"Just call me Naruto then, Neji." Naruto stated, drawing an annoyed expression from the otherwise stoic Hyuuga.

"Don't get too comfortable with me. Still, I'll agree to your request for the duration of our training, Naruto." Agreed Neji, surprising Naruto as he had expected to be refused flatly.

Glad to not be forced to stand on ceremony, Naruto said the short sentence that would make ripples in the shinobi world.

"Let's see what we're made of, then."

* * *

 _ **Two Weeks Later, Forest of Death:**_

Naruto was hidden in a tree, when he was forced to jump to avoid a volley of kunai.

Anko's pursuit didn't let up with that, Naruto belatedly noticing the exploding tag on the branch he'd landed on. Using his chakra to propel himself off the surface, he pulled out his tanto and swung it at his sensei in a wide arc.

Jumping into the air to avoid the attack, Anko smirked at her student who was now on the ground.

Naruto was forced to once again jump as a pitfall trap opened beneath where he had landed, barely catching himself by lassoing shinobi wire around a branch and swinging from his kunai, snapping the wire.

Anko, meanwhile, backflipped over two of her student's mud clones, taking both out by launching snakes from her sleeves.

Naruto attempted to cast a Genjutsu on his sensei but was kicked in the back as he realised he'd attempted a Genjutsu on her mud clone.

As a kunai grazed his cheek, drawing blood, Naruto's focus sharpened. He threw his tanto, channelling his fuuton chakra to sharpen the blade.

'Starting him on the early stages of elemental training is paying off' Anko thought, letting out an impressed whistle as the blond's tanto cut straight through the tree she was sticking to.

It had taken Naruto a while to get to the level where he could actively sharpen his blades with chakra. He had begun training on it before the Chunin Exams had begun but had only been making progress in the last couple of weeks, since he beat Asuma in a game of shogi and claimed some advice on shaping wind chakra as his prize.

Darting forward to grab his sword, Naruto was forced to swerve midair to avoid the large snake his sensei summoned, knowing that it would swallow him whole if it got the opportunity.

Anko grabbed the blond's tanto and dived at him, swinging it in a wide arc similarly to how he had previously.

Naruto ducked under the attack, tapping the handle of the tanto and sharpening it with his wind-natured chakra. Anko winced, releasing the blade as it cut into her hand.

Naruto grabbed hold of the tanto and dropped into his initial stance.

"That's enough, brat. You pass the test." Naruto was sceptical and didn't drop his stance.

"Clearly I must be a great teacher that you'd even think that was a trick" Anko gloated, Naruto relaxing slightly but keeping his guard up in case it was a ploy.

"In the whole time we've been training together, you've never actually drawn blood from me before. No Genin ever has. You're making great progress." Anko praised, Naruto preening slightly but trying to follow Shikaku's advice to restrain his ego.

Naruto's sparring with Neji had also been paying off greatly for him. As well as increasing his flexibility further, he was now much more pro-active in aiming for his opponent's blind spots, having gotten used to having an opponent who almost lacked a blind spot.

Neji had sworn the blond to secrecy when he'd made the accidental discovery of the 1-degree blind spot in the Byakugan's vision.

Though it was hard for Naruto himself to stay within such a short radius, he had been able to use it to get weapons into Neji's blind spot. In this sense, Neji had benefited a lot from the training also, no longer being as arrogant in staring his opponent down, using the mobility of his neck to keep his blind spot moving so that it was harder to aim for.

Although he was unsure if Neji had noticed, Naruto felt that Neji's blind spot had also gotten slightly smaller, as while he was unlikely to notice a senbon that Naruto got in his blind spot, he would often notice a kunai or shuriken that had a slightly wider shape.

Over the two weeks they had been training together, the two had also started to develop a bond. Though neither would admit that it was friendship, they both acknowledged each other's abilities and tactics.

After hearing Neji's tale about his family, he was largely able to overlook Neji's misgivings with Hinata. While he didn't agree with them, as he didn't believe a four-year-old girl could really be held to blame for being kidnapped by a foreign shinobi, he also respected Neji's right to hold that grudge if he wanted to.

So long as Neji didn't do anything to hurt Hinata, Naruto didn't think it was his place to intervene.

Neji, on the other hand, recognised Naruto's abilities and how he had gone from being dead-last of his academy year to be a 'talented' Genin. Although this didn't change Neji's views on fate, he did believe that perhaps Naruto was cut out for a more impressive fate than his academy grades would suggest.

Naruto had also told him how he had been forced to kill Sakura on his first mission, though he cut out the details about the Kyuubi and instead explained it as a jutsu that forced him to attack her.

After hearing Naruto's story on why Team 7 had split up, Neji felt he could understand the blond a little better and understood that he too was forced to bear an unwanted burden (the weight of Sakura's death).

Tenten, Gai and Lee had all been shell-shocked by the change in Neji. While he hadn't been opening up to them about his issues with his family, he had become slightly less condescending and didn't always belittle Lee after his 'challenges.'

Anko congratulated Naruto on passing her little test. She was honestly impressed he had been able to draw blood from her, especially in the way that he had. Although she thought to herself that he was still a long way off actually beating her in a battle, this was a step in the right direction.

"Hokage-sama wants you to head to the tower when you're available. Our morning training is done, so I'd suggest grabbing some lunch then heading to see him" Anko advised, knowing that her apprentice would otherwise rush there, be asked to complete a task and spend the whole time whining about hunger.

Naruto nodded, seeing the wisdom in her advice.

"Do you know what he wants, Anko-sensei?" Naruto asked his sensei, preferring not to be blindsided if he could avoid it.

"Funny story, actually. I'm told you met Jiraiya of the Sannin?" Anko asked, a knowing grin on her face.

Jiraiya's humiliation had spread like wildfire among the shinobi forces, though it was being intentionally kept as a shinobi matter. After all, Jiraiya was a well-known figure within the village (even though many didn't know what he looked like), so lowering his reputation could weaken morale in the long run.

"Wait, you mean that pervert really was one of the Sannin?" Anko cackled, amused by her apprentice's first impression of the hermit.

"That's right, brat. He's an enemy to all women. I heard about what you did, and I've been bragging about you to my comrades non-stop since, so you'd better impress at the Chunin Exams." Anko advised/threatened, Naruto nodding rapidly in response to placate his sensei.

"Everyone really has that high expectations of me?" Naruto asked, a slight desperation in his voice.

Anko could recognise it, even if Naruto himself couldn't. Having suffered from neglect his entire life, the blond craved positive attention, which was what led him to heavily emulating both Anko and Shikaku, leading to a mixture of their personalities that was both wild and calculated at once.

Yearning for acknowledgement from the villagers, it was overwhelming for Naruto to hear that people had actual expectations of him. Anko almost felt bad for telling him, as she knew he'd now feel obligated to meet those expectations.

"I know a lot of people aren't fond of you, brat. Civilians especially are unable to see the difference between a kunai and a sealing scroll, but there are more shinobi than you realise who see you for you and are hoping you'll go on to do great things."

Naruto almost teared up at this revelation but was able to school his emotions, having had it beaten into him by Anko that an expressive shinobi was usually a dead one.

"Thanks, Anko-sensei. I'm gonna show them all whose boss in the finals!" Naruto declared, determined to make his sensei proud.

'You don't realise, Naruto, but I'm already proud of your progress, you don't have to prove anything to me.' Anko thought to herself, grinning all the while.

"Show that Uchiha princess what a real shinobi is for me if you get the chance, brat" Anko said with a wicked grin, mirrored by Naruto's own sadistic expression.

After they parted ways, Naruto decided to follow his sensei's advice and grab some lunch before going to meet the Hokage.

Armed with the knowledge that he was about to be 'introduced' to Jiraiya, he was in no hurry to arrive, feeling unimpressed by someone he thought had been given the title of Sannin without working for it.

Heading for his favourite ramen stand, Naruto let his mind wander back to his days on Team 7, and he couldn't help wondering how his estranged teammate's training was coming along.

'I bet that teme will come back somehow able to beat a Jonin in a fight, because that's just the kind of stuff he does. It's a surprise he isn't the main character.' Naruto thought to himself, unknowingly breaking the fourth wall.

Coming to a standstill, Naruto realised that oddly his legs hadn't guided him to his usual ramen stand, but to the Akimichi's restaurant.

'Well, guess I'll go in since I'm here, it must've smelled good if I got here without noticing.' Naruto thought to himself.

Entering the restaurant, Naruto flinched as he heard a voice calling out to him, thinking he was about to be kicked out. Looking up, he was surprised to see Team 10 having lunch at a table, calling him over.

Cautiously making his way over to the table, Naruto greeted the team.

Shikamaru and Asuma he was already very familiar with, but he realised he barely knew either Chouji or Ino.

All he could remember about Chouji was that he was very friendly and always spent a lot of time with Shikamaru back in their academy days.

Ino, meanwhile, Naruto had remembered as being a fangirl, but the young woman in front of him didn't leave him with that impression. While he'd seen signs of her changes in the first stage of the Chunin Exams, it was almost like she'd fully transformed from the girl she once was.

His fellow blond projected an aura of confidence that made you think twice before you'd want to mess with the girl, and her change in dietary intake had turned her physique into that of a real kunoichi.

Naruto couldn't help thinking that she was gorgeous but decided that he shouldn't think that way about her, especially since he had an inkling that her changes were brought about by Sakura's death.

Asuma offered him to join them, which he decided to accept since he was on his way to grab some lunch anyway.

"Thanks, Asuma-sensei!" Naruto said, taking a seat in between Shikamaru and Ino.

"Hey, you look different Naruto, what happened? You look good like that?" Ino asked, referring to Naruto's change of appearance.

He'd forgone the outfit he'd been wearing to emulate his sensei for a more traditional outfit. Donning a black headband that could unfurl into a bandana, his blond hair had gained length, making him share a resemblance with the Yondaime Hokage.

He wore a loose fitting navy-blue shirt, concealing his training weights underneath as well as the senbon launchers he had designed that were strapped around his wrists. Though, for the time being, each could only hold around three senbon before he would have to reload them, so they were more for surprise attacks than actual combat usage. His shirt donned a white version of the Uzumaki spiral on his back.

Black shinobi trousers remained a part of his get-up, bandages tightening the trousers around his lower legs, where they were tucked into a pair of black boots. Though they weren't the lightest of footwear, he found that they helped him train to make less sound as he moved and naturally reinforced his kicks, making chakra enhanced kicks deadlier than ever before.

"Thanks, Ino, you're looking _pretty fine_ yourself." Naruto said, surprising the other blond who hadn't expected him to have become such a flirt, especially since she didn't see indicators of it in the early stages of the Chunin Exam.

Ino let a confident smile rise to her face, her eyes meeting Naruto's and, making sure he watched her, she licked her lips.

Naruto fought off a blush, but his training with Anko meant that he was far less affected by these types of advances than he would've been weeks prior.

Shooting a wink at her, Naruto mouthed the words 'you, me, bedroom' to get a reaction out of her. Ino flushed red and turned away with a 'hmph' which caused Naruto to smirk at his victory.

"Get a room if you're just going to spend all day looking at each other rather than eating" Shikamaru teased, causing both blonds to turn on him.

"What was that?" Both said in sync. A cold sweat ran down Shikamaru's neck as he decided to just smooth it over.

"Uh, I was talking to Chouji and Asuma-sensei?" He said, causing both targeted parties' jaws to drop. Naruto and Ino turned to the two and grinned before whispering to each other.

Both Chouji and Asuma were quick to try and refute the accusations, but all was forgotten about when food arrived.

Their table descended into silence as everyone was quick to eat their meals, afraid of the risk that Chouji would eat their food if they didn't.

After finishing their meals, they all let out satisfied sighs and patted their stomachs.

Naruto thanked the team for the conversation and letting him eat with them, left his share of the bill and winked once more at Ino before leaving.

Once he had left the restaurant, Naruto decided it was about time to go 'meet' the old pervert.

Arriving quickly at the Hokage tower, the blond decided to make an entrance.

Sneaking past the secretary, he skulked up the stairs, sticking to the shadows. He slid the door open and tiptoed in, hoping to make his great surprise.

"Ah, Naruto-kun, you're here." Hiruzen stated, Naruto freezing like a deer caught in headlights.

"I'm afraid you're thirty years too early to catch this old man unaware" Hiruzen joked, though Naruto caught the implied warning behind the message.

"Sorry, Jiji. Won't happen again." Naruto apologised, realising in hindsight how unwise it was to sneak into his village leader's office without announcing his presence, aware that the Hokage would be right to suspect him of an assassination attempt.

"It better not, brat." Jiraiya piped up, making his presence known.

"Hey, it's that pervert! Jiji, didn't you send him to jail for his crimes against women?" Naruto acted out, bringing a tic mark to Jiraiya's forehead while Hiruzen was turning red from holding back laughter.

"No, Naruto-kun, I didn't decide to arrest my student." Hiruzen said, not realising he'd just walked right into Naruto's trap.

"Wait, you taught him to be a major pervert who spies on women? Just wait until Anko-sensei hears about this." Hiruzen and Jiraiya both paled dramatically, knowing that not even his Kage rank would save him from feminine fury. Especially from Anko.

"I meant I trained him as a shinobi, Naruto-kun. There's no need to get your Jiji into trouble, is there?" Hiruzen asked, hoping to push the entire thing onto Jiraiya, his student turning a betrayed look on him.

"I don't know, Jiji. I'd argue that's worse, did the ANBU mention he was stood on top of a giant frog to peer over the hot spring walls?" Jiraiya almost looked smug that Hiruzen wasn't getting away with it either until he heard the latter part of the statement.

"Is that true, Jiraiya?" Hiruzen asked, not having heard that Jiraiya had been abusing his sage status to spy on women.

"No, it was a toad!" Jiraiya defended, before cupping his hands over his mouth at what he had said.

"I guess Tsunade is my only student now." Hiruzen stated forlornly.

Jiraiya looked heartbroken before both Hiruzen and Naruto simultaneously burst out laughing.

"Hahaha, oh my god, you should've seen your face!" Naruto exclaimed, trying to hold back tears from laughing.

Hiruzen wasn't in much better of a state, his paperwork knocked over and forgotten about through the amusement he'd gained from his student's suffering.

After settling down from their bout of laughing at Jiraiya's expense, the room gained a more business-like atmosphere.

"Naruto, my student here would like you to become his apprentice." Hiruzen stated clearly, waiting to see the blond's reaction.

"Really? One of the legendary Sannin wants me to be their apprentice?" Naruto said, his voice filled with hope.

Jiraiya had a proud expression at the recognition of his renown.

"Yeah, kid. If you feel like you'd benefit from the training, I'd be more than happy to make you my apprentice" Jiraiya said, trying to appeal to Naruto without sounding like he was desperate to train him.

Naruto's eyes appeared to shine with hope before he let his answer drop.

"No. Hell no." Jiraiya's smile froze as he heard the blond's answer.

"But why not? You'd really refuse training from one of the Sannin?" Jiraiya asked, causing Naruto to roll his eyes.

"First of all, you've been riding that Sannin title for years, and you only got it from being unable to defeat Hanzo of the Salamander." Jiraiya looked sheepish at this reminder of the title's origins.

"Second, your skillset and mine are totally mismatched." Though Jiraiya felt he could teach Naruto a lot, he was somewhat forced to agree with Naruto's blunt assessment.

"Finally, Anko-sensei and Shikaku-sensei are already great teachers. I don't need your apprenticeship, I'd rather you offered it to someone who does." Jiraiya was floored at the blond's refusal.

Feeling the need to throw the sinking Jiraiya a life-ring, Naruto decided to make him an offer.

"I don't want to be your apprentice, but if you'll teach me how to seal stuff then I'll be your student." Feeling that Naruto's offer was as close as he would get to being able to spend time with his godson, Jiraiya readily agreed.

"Well, now that this matter is settled, I'll let you go back to your training, Naruto-kun" Hiruzen said, prompting them both to get out of his office, slightly frustrated by his spilled paperwork.

Leaving the Hokage's Office, Naruto and his new kind-of sensei agreed they would meet up after lunch each day for some Fuuinjutsu training before the blond would then head to train with Shikaku in the evenings.

Though this left Naruto with days full of training until the Chunin Exam Finals, he couldn't have been happier for the opportunity to train.

* * *

 _ **Two Weeks Later, Day of the Finals:**_

Having collected his shinobi gear from Higurashi's Shinobi Store, Naruto decided it was about time he headed for the exam finals, knowing it wouldn't be long before the entrance ceremony began.

As he left, Tenten quickly fell into step with him and the two happily chatted on their way to the finals, both avoiding any mentions of their actual training, hoping to keep their aces up their sleeves if they were to battle in the finals.

On their way to the arena, they bumped into Shikamaru, who fist bumped Naruto and walked to the exams with them.

Though Tenten and Shikamaru weren't acquainted, the latter was mostly happy to let the two more active talkers carry the conversation while he would just sometimes insert a comment where it felt appropriate.

They arrived at the arena to find Neji waiting outside for them.

"Tenten, I'm glad you've made it here." Neji greeted his teammate, who gave a similar greeting in return, before turning to the blond.

"Naruto, I'm sure we're fated to battle here today." Neji stated, making clear his intention to battle and defeat the blond if they were paired up. Tenten looked stunned at this showing of rivalry from her teammate.

"Likewise, Neji. You're the one I want to defeat most today." Naruto said honestly. Though he still retained a bond with Sasuke, he felt their rivalry had fallen apart and he found Neji to be overall a better rival for him.

They exchanged sharp gazes, their training together meant both had knowledge of the other's fighting styles.

Tenten and Shikamaru also shared a determined expression, both thinking they wouldn't back down against any of the other Genin. Though the latter also thought it would be troublesome to fight a woman.

Heading into the arena, they were just in time for the entrance ceremony.

Tuning out the initial speech about the will of fire and how the Genin were representing their villages (mostly irrelevant since all bar one team was from Konoha), Naruto was more focused on the absence of both of his teammates.

Sasuke he could understand, Kakashi was almost as renowned for his lateness as he was for his skills, but Naruto couldn't shake a bad feeling about Kabuto's absence.

With the opening speech cleared away, it was time for the first match.

Having done his research on all his potential opponent's, Naruto felt confident in his ability to beat most of them. He thought, however, that if he came to blows with Gaara that he'd likely surrender early to avoid meeting an early grave.

His lack of knowledge on Kabuto's abilities was another thing that worried him, especially as he had been trying hard to acquire that knowledge.

Looking up at the matching board, Naruto was stunned to see a name he'd never heard, but that felt so familiar to him. Though when he saw the other name, he couldn't help but keel over from laughter.

 **Uzumaki Kushina vs The Sage of Six Paths**

Feeling a strange sense of familiarity in the name, Naruto decided it would be something he would have to ask the Sandaime about once the finals had ended.

Moving on from the spectacle, the real first match was generated.

With the first pairing set, the Chunin Exam Finals began in full swing.

 **Naruto vs Kiba**

* * *

 **Author's Note: Thanks for reading chapter 5 of Ripples and Consequences. It was a much longer chapter than usual and believe it or not I had to cut out a few hundred words to even get it to this point, but I wanted to cover the entire month's events in a single chapter.**

 **Thanks for your reviews so far (I think I've replied to them all now) and I hope you'll all continue to enjoy the story.**

 **Chapter 6 will be out soon, Ja Ne!**


	6. Chapter 6

Ripples and Consequences

Chapter 6: Chunin Exam Finals/Invasion of Konoha Pt 1

* * *

 _ **Exam Stadium:**_

 **Naruto vs Kiba**

Kiba had a wild grin plastered on his face, glad for a chance to pursue revenge for what Naruto had done to him during the second stage of the exams.

He wasn't sure he'd ever be able to hold a senbon after his traumatic experience.

Meanwhile, Kiba's teammates looked at him with pity, feeling that Kiba may not get to show enough skill to progress if he was up against the blond.

Naruto felt bad that he'd have to face Kiba so soon, knowing he couldn't afford to lose in the first round of the finals, a lot of expectations were riding on him.

Jumping down into the arena, Naruto shot a glance to his sensei, hoping to gain her permission to go all out.

Anko nodded, a sadistic grin adorning her features at what she knew was about to happen.

Kiba walked down to the arena and got into a battle-ready stance, shooting a cocky grin at Naruto.

"You got lucky last time we fought, this time I'll tear you to shreds and show everyone here I'm ready to be a Chunin!" Kiba declared, fully intending to back up his words in their battle.

"You're all bark and no bite. It takes more than spirit to be a Chunin." Naruto said, a calculated expression on his face, his eyes watching Kiba sharply.

Most of the Konoha Genin seemed surprise at the almost uncharacteristic change in the blond, not having seen this side to him before.

Naruto was taking his Jonin-sensei, Shikaku's advice. He held back a smirk as he saw Kiba looking slightly unnerved by his calmness.

Feeling a certain tranquillity in his mind, focusing on nothing but the enemy in front of him, Naruto gestured at the proctor to start the battle.

"Kiba's so screwed." Shikamaru declared to the other Genin he was sat with. Shino and Neji nodded in agreement, though the others looked puzzled.

"How so? He might've changed clothes, but he's still the same dead-last from the academy" Ino said, prompting a shake of the head from Shikamaru.

"Naruto-san will win this battle. Why? Because he has already defeated Kiba once, and even my kikai insects can detect that he has become far stronger since then." Shino piped up, everyone turning to look at him, having forgotten he was there (poor Shino).

"He can't have changed that much though, right?" Ino contradicted, certain of her opinion that the dead-last of their class couldn't beat Kiba.

"No, Shino-san's right Ino. If the expression on that troublesome blond's face is anything to go by, they'll be carrying Kiba out in a stretcher." Shikamaru asserted, Ino paling at her teammate's words.

Deciding that both contestants were ready, Genma declared the start of the battle.

"Let's see if you can stand up to this, dobe." Kiba said cockily, launching himself at the blond at high speeds.

Naruto's expression didn't change as Kiba rapidly approached.

Right as Kiba collided with the blond, a large cloud of dust rose from the ground, prompting a stunned silence from the crowd.

"See, Shikamaru, I told you that there was no way Naruto could win this fight, Kiba took him out in a single hit." Ino stated, her teammates both looking shocked.

"No, he hasn't moved from where he stood when the match started." Neji said, the veins bulging around his eyes betraying his use of the Byakugan.

Some of the Jonin could be seen whispering amongst themselves about what had just happened.

As the dust cleared, the crowd roared into life at seeing Naruto still standing, while Kiba's face had been brutally planted into the ground, where it was pinned by a boot.

"Stay down, Kiba. I don't want to do anything unnecessary." Naruto said, hoping to disarm Kiba before the battle would get out of hand.

"You're turning into your sensei, looking down on me and saying it's 'too troublesome' like that. You sound just like that lazy bum of a Nara." While Naruto was happy to ignore the insult against himself, the moment Kiba insulted one of his friends something snapped within him.

"Welp, the Inuzuka brat's dead." Anko stated, much to the confusion of those around her.

"What do you mean, the battle has only just started?" Kurenai questioned, confident in her student's abilities.

"Watch and see." Anko said, prompting Kurenai to turn back to watch the match.

Kiba had hoped to distract the blond long enough for Akamaru to perform a sneak attack, but alas, it was not meant to be.

Naruto's eyes flashed red, drawing shocked expressions from the Jonin who were fast enough to see it.

He grabbed Kiba by the scruff of his neck and threw him right at where Akamaru was lunging from, causing the Inuzuka and his ninken to collide mid-air.

Recovering quickly, Kiba and Akamaru launched themselves as one at the blond.

Naruto decided enough was enough and summoned two mud clones, who rushed forwards to meet their opponents.

Kiba threw a punch at one of the clones, while Akamaru bounded into the air, intent on biting straight through the other's arm.

One clone drew its tanto, while the other pulled three senbon from its pouch, causing Kiba to pale in horror at the memory that flashed in his mind.

Akamaru was promptly forced to dodge as the three senbon were thrown at him, leading the ninken to withdraw and gained some distance from the blond.

Meanwhile, Kiba slid under the tanto and performed a tsuuga, spinning into a whirlwind and causing one of the blond's clones to collapse in a pile of mud.

Naruto's other clone, the one that had drawn its tanto, stabbed at Kiba in the air, stabbing directly through his shoulder.

Kiba cried out in pain and was forced into a retreat alongside his partner.

Deciding on a new plan, Kiba and Akamaru shared a glance before launching at the blond's clone in a tsuuga.

Naruto's clone reacted quickly, jumping high into the air and channeling wind chakra whilst swinging its tanto in a wide arc.

Kiba and Akamaru narrowly dodged as a wide blade of wind carved deeply into the ground.

Deciding that he couldn't continue to take his opponent lightly, Kiba activated his man-beast clone jutsu with a cry of "Shikyaku no Jutsu!"

Mid-air, the clone was forced to hold up the tanto to guard the sudden twin whirlwinds of both Kiba and Akamaru heading towards him. As his tanto snapped from the impact, the clone rapidly performed handsigns and slammed his palms together, releasing all his chakra weights at once.

Spinning like a top, the blond was able to avoid both whirlwinds at once, shocking both Kiba and Akamaru.

As the two dropped to the ground to re-launch their attacks, the clone almost seemed to vanish in a burst of speed and launched a kick at the defenceless Kiba, launching him into one of the arena walls.

Kiba spat blood as he impacted the wall, Akamaru launching himself at the blond to get revenge for his human companion.

Naruto's clone threw several senbon, each of which pierced one of the ninken's limbs, disabling it without doing any lasting damage to the pup.

Kiba saw red as his ninken hit the ground hard, causing him to once more launch himself at the blond in rage.

Wildly throwing punches and kicks, Kiba was quickly outmanoeuvred by the clone who delivered a swift roundhouse kick, sending his opponent flying once more.

Once more, Kiba launched himself at the clone, only for the same series of events to occur.

Refusing to give up, Kiba stood once more, though he looked a lot worse for wear. He was sure that his ribs must be broken, his coat was draping off his form and was in tatters, and his face was covered in his own blood.

Meanwhile, the audience were roaring in excitement as the two fought, enthralled by the blond's brutality and the shaggy-haired brunette's determination to keep fighting. Many in the audience were on their feet, yelling at the Inuzuka heir not to give up, while his friends were just hoping he'd surrender, knowing he was taking a pointless beating.

Kiba staggered forwards, driven by the audience's chanting. Naruto's clone, impressed by the Inuzuka's spirit, waited for the boy to rush at him once more.

Kiba swallowed a soldier pill, regaining a little chakra, before dashing forwards towards the clone. As the clone readied its guard, Kiba shocked him by turning on his foot and lunging at the original blond in the hopes of at least hitting Naruto before he was defeated.

Naruto had a surprised expression, shocked and impressed at Kiba's daring tactic, knowing that had his clone been faster to react, the Inuzuka would once more be planted in the wall.

Naruto grinned in challenge, deciding to honour his opponent's spirit by facing him head on.

Anko shook her head in disapproval, not agreeing with the blond's all too honourable nature. Internally though, she was glad he still held some individuality, having worried that he was trying too hard to be like her and Shikaku.

Kiba's fist approached the blond, and Naruto, intent on standing strong against the blow, raised his guard. His clone in the background was about to throw a senbon when it noticed the expression in its original's eyes and grinned, forming a handsign before collapsing into a pile of mud.

Just before Kiba's punch met Naruto's guard, the dog-user collapsed in a heap on the ground and the crowd fell silent.

Though Naruto was slightly disappointed that he hadn't been able to face his opponent's challenge, he contented himself with the smile that adorned the unconscious Inuzuka's face, recognising a battle well-fought.

"Winner, Uzumaki Naruto!" Called the proctor, to a large applause. Many shinobi and civilians alike had been impressed by the spectacle. Even the Daimyo of Hi no Kuni was impressed with the blond's spectacular performance.

None, however, felt more pride than Hiruzen did in the Kage Booth. Though he held himself back from standing to applaud, feeling it improper around his fellow Kage, he felt much more secure about the future of the next generation after witnessing that battle.

Many of Naruto's fellow Genin were also applauding, impressed by his performance. Most notably, even Neji applauded lightly. Although he had believed the blond would win from the beginning, nobody had expected him to win the battle without even moving from his initial spot.

Jiraiya, who was watching from the crowd, felt that Naruto's fighting style would be well-suited to Fuuinjutsu. Though he had hoped to get the blond started on sealing before the finals, after seeing Naruto's tragic calligraphy, he had been forced to re-teach him how to write from scratch.

Not that he blamed Naruto for it at all. Having the childhood that he had, and without his parents or dedicated teachers in the academy to help him, it was surprising that Shikaku had been able to improve his tactical ability so quickly.

Iruka stood in the crowd, applauding his favourite student excitedly. He was proud of how far the blond had come that he was able to defeat one of the stronger Genin of his year with such ease.

Though Iruka and Naruto hadn't been as close following the blond's tragic first mission, he still considered the blond to be like an errant little brother and felt immense pride in his student's success.

Anko felt immense pride in her student for his victory, claiming prize money from her bets from many of the other Jonin that had betted on Kiba. Shikaku held a satisfied expression, glad that his training had been getting through to the blond, even if said blond had yet to realise it.

After Kiba was carried out on a stretcher, following Anko's prediction, Naruto headed into the bleachers where he was greeted by his friends.

"Good job, troublesome blond. I'm glad I won't be stuck fighting you today." Shikamaru congratulated his friend, glad to be spared of the effort he'd have to put in to defeat the blond.

"What he's trying to say is you were great out there, blondie!" Ino exclaimed, conveniently ignoring the fact that she, herself, was blond.

"Yeah, Naruto, you rocked!" Added Chouji, munching on a pack of potato chips.

"You did well out there, Naruto-kun, but not well enough to think you can beat me!" Tenten asserted, making the blond's grin even brighter, if that was even possible.

While he was elated at his victory, he didn't miss the nod of respect from his new rival, returning a light nod.

Shino and Hinata, while lightly congratulating the blond, were more concerned for the welfare of their teammate. Though Naruto assured them that he hadn't gone for any lethal attacks against his opponent, the brutal beating he had taken still had them worried.

"Now, if you'll all turn your attention to the matching board, we'll put up our next match-up." Announced the proctor, his voice projecting around the arena, causing the audience's gazes to turn to see the next match.

* * *

 **Kankuro vs Shino**

Despite his concern for his teammate, the Aburame heir headed down to the arena, determined to defeat his opponent in a timely fashion so that he could check on the absent member of Team 8's condition.

Kankuro, too, headed down into the arena. Though many of the civilians in the audience were still making a lot of noise, riled up from the excitement of the previous battle, many of the shinobi who had an idea of the two Genin's skillsets knew they were in for a different kind of battle.

Hinata closed her eyes and wished her teammate luck in his battle, hoping that he would come out victorious against the Suna shinobi.

"Go, Shino! Show him that real shinobi don't have to steal their sister's makeup to look cool!" Naruto yelled, snickers arising from those who heard him.

Kankuro developed a large tic mark on his head at the insult but knew that he had to let it slide as part of their plan.

"Well then, if both contestants are ready to begin-" started the proctor, before being cut off by Kankuro.

"Proctor, I forfeit." Kankuro announced, causing Naruto to face-fault.

Many in the crowd began to jeer and boo at the forfeit of the Suna Genin, especially as they had been looking forward to another round of excitement after the previous round.

In the Kage Booth, Hiruzen couldn't help but feel that something was suspicious. Between the Yondaime Kazekage persisting on keeping his face covered with his veil and Kankuro's sporadic forfeit, he felt a sense of foreboding.

Jiraiya, having travelled to other villages as Konoha's spymaster for years, knew that something was up, but wasn't able to pinpoint what it was.

Both contestants left the arena and returned to their places in the bleachers. Shino, while visibly appearing to be calm, was accompanied by the angry buzzing of his kikai insects, no doubt agitated by the fluctuating emotions of their host.

Continuing with the exam, the proctor announced the next matchup.

* * *

 **Temari vs Tenten**

Both girls grinned, having been waiting for an opportunity to battle since the first stage of the Chunin Exams.

Naruto let out a cheer in the background, though neither were able to discern who he was cheering for.

"Thanks Naruto, I'll win for sure!" Tenten announced, deciding that he was obviously cheering for her.

"He's not cheering for you, obviously. It's clear he's cheering for the only _woman_ on the stage." Asserted Temari, putting emphasis on the word 'woman' in reference to Tenten's tomboyish appearance.

Tenten bristled in annoyance, resolving herself to defeat the blond kunoichi in front of her.

Naruto sweat-dropped in the audience, having cheered for them both.

Fortunately for Naruto, Kiba was still in the medic bay at that point in time, or else he'd have been receiving a very threatening glare for his popularity with the fairer gender.

Beginning the battle, Tenten jumped high in the air, throwing a volley of shuriken towards her opponent.

There was a shimmer of wind as Temari blew all the weapons off their target, causing the shuriken to instead be scattered across the ground.

Bounding off the ground once more, Tenten somersaulted through the air, a short distance in front of her opponent.

"How about this!" Tenten challenged, unfurling her trademark weapon scrolls around her. She spun mid-air and summoned a multitude of weaponry from her scrolls, launching them all at once towards her opponent, who had yet to move from her initial position.

Once more, a gust of wind was the only indication that Temari had moved as all the flying projectiles were again diverted from their intended target, sticking themselves in various positions around the Suna kunoichi.

"Soushoryuu!" Tenten announced her twin-rising dragons jutsu, causing a large cloud of smoke to appear. Temari lost sight of her opponent for an instant as the twin scrolls unravelled in the air.

Tenten blurred in a burst of speed and jumped high in the air, twisting and twirling between her scrolls, summoning more weapons and launching them at her opponent.

Temari twirled and swung her fan, releasing a large gust of wind that deflected the oncoming weapons.

Tenten discarded her scrolls and once more somersaulted through the air, pulling on near-invisible shinobi wire to lift the weapons that had been deflected up from the ground.

Continuing in her stride, Tenten used the momentum of her arms to once more launch the weapons at her the Suna Genin, hoping to end the match with that move.

Temari merely smirked and swung her fan towards Tenten, simultaneously blowing away the weapons and knocking the Konoha Genin flying.

Taking the hit hard, the bun-haired kunoichi flew backwards, skidding along the ground as she went.

Unfurling her fan, Temari continued her momentum against her opponent, disappearing from Tenten's sight before sailing overhead on her fan.

"Oh shoot!" Tenten panicked as Temari's shadow casted over her.

Landing quickly, the sandy-haired Suna kunoichi didn't allow her opponent time to recover.

"Kamaitachi!" She yelled, launching a whirlwind from her fan. Tenten, unable to dodge was surrounded by the whirlwind where several wind blades cut into her before launching her into the air, already unconscious.

She fell towards the ground, prompting Temari to extend her arm holding her fan. Tenten's back slammed on the metal fan, hard, causing her to cough out blood.

"Temari wins the third battle." Announced the proctor, prompting Temari to smirk.

Temari flung Tenten forward, through the air, hoping to deal further damage even though she had already been declared the victor.

Fortunately for Tenten, her teammate was quick to jump into action, appearing in the arena and catching her mid-air, making sure no further harm came to the defeated kunoichi.

Lee made to attack Temari to get revenge for his teammate but was beaten to it by a certain blond.

Naruto appeared in front of Lee and placed his hand on his shoulder, shaking his head to discourage the spandex-wearing Genin from acting rashly.

"But Naruto-kun!" Lee made to object before stopping as he saw the Suna kunoichi fall to her knees, releasing a scream of phantom pain.

"Mugen: Narakumi no Jutsu" Naruto muttered what was quickly becoming his signature technique lowly. Despite being only a D-rank Genjutsu, it was surprisingly effective against the Suna Genin, who had yet to fight against any Genjutsu users.

Naruto shook his head at the girl, having already forgiven her for what she had done, trusting that his Genjutsu had taught her a lesson.

Afterwards, he turned a glare to her red-haired brother, who returned the glare with a burst of killing-intent.

Naruto had just witnessed what Temari would consider her worst nightmare in that moment after winning her battle. What the girl had seen, what Naruto had made her see, was her brother calling her a disappointment before crushing her with the use of sand.

Though glad for the unexpected intel he had gained on one of his opponent's, he felt the punishment had slightly outweighed the crime as he saw Temari still shaking on the ground.

"Naruto-kun, while I admire how brightly your youth burns, defending my student; if you attack another competitor outside of a battle again, you'll be disqualified." Gai warned the whiskered blond.

"Sorry, Gai-sensei, won't happen again." Naruto said, nonchalantly, walking towards the downed Suna kunoichi.

"I hope you'll apologise to Tenten when she wakes up. It would be a shame to have to return the favour if we end up battling." Naruto said to the kunoichi, offering a hand to help her up.

Temari looked at his extended hand and turned away scoffing, angry tears brimming in her eyes at just having the brief sight of her younger brother end her life.

Naruto shook his head piteously, retracting his hand, before turning and walking away to help Lee carry the unconscious Tenten to the medical bay.

Hiruzen looked on from the Kage Booth, internally proud of both Naruto and Lee's showing, having always felt that protecting one's friends was the key to true strength.

'It warms my heart to see that the will of fire continues to burn strong in the next generation' Hiruzen thought to himself, feeling the friendship forming between Lee and his pseudo-grandson.

After they had all returned to their places in the bleachers, the matching board kicked into action once more.

* * *

 **Sasuke vs Gaara**

Many in the audience roared in excitement, hoping to see their beloved Uchiha defeat one of the Suna Genin. His classmates, though, were worried, as Sasuke had yet to arrive.

Gaara had a bloodthirsty grin on his face as he headed into the arena, excited for the chance to defeat a strong opponent and prove his existence.

Meanwhile, in the Kage Booth, the Sandaime Hokage and the Yondaime Kazekage were debating what to do about Sasuke's absence.

"I think we should give the boy a chance to arrive, Hokage-dono. After all, this is the battle the crowd has been waiting for, and I personally would like to see how my son measures up to your top Genin." Stated the Yondaime Kazekage, further drawing Hiruzen's suspicion as he didn't think Rasa was the type of man to interject over such things.

"I, too, would like to give young Sasuke-kun the benefit of the doubt. However, it would be unfair to the other contestants who showed up on time." Argued Hiruzen, unsure as to what his action in this situation should be.

'On the one hand, the civilian council won't be happy if young Sasuke doesn't get to show off his skills today. But on the other hand, they'd be all for punishing the culprit if it was our resident Uzumaki.' Hiruzen thought to himself, leaning more towards disqualifying the Uchiha.

"Hokage-sama, I think we can make an exception in this" here, he paused "unique case, don't you?" Though Hiruzen thought the circumstances seemed unusual, he was also a firm believer that other priorities weren't a valid excuse if you failed a time-sensitive mission.

"Actually, I've decided we should disqualify the boy for his absence. If it satisfies you, Kazekage-dono, perhaps we can arrange for Sasuke-kun to fight against your son after the tournament." Hiruzen reasoned, deciding that he valued fairness over favouritism.

He communicated this to one of his ANBU who, with a light bow, shunshin'd down onto the arena floor. After the ANBU and the proctor conferred for a few moments, the masked shinobi returned to his post next to his Kage.

"Uchiha Sasuke has been officially disqualified due to his failure to arrive for his match. This means Sabaku no Gaara wins by default." Announced the proctor, his voice projecting around the arena, prompting booing from many of the civilian audience who had paid for their tickets specifically to come watch the Uchiha scion fight.

Gaara felt positively murderous at that moment, as his prey, which he had been looking forward to hunting, was taken from his grasp. Despite progressing another round in the exam, he felt no satisfaction.

Rudely, the crowd continued to jeer and boo even as Gaara headed up into the bleachers.

From the medical bay, Naruto was glad to hear that Sasuke had been disqualified. Not because it meant that there was one less challenging opponent, though that was a plus. Predominantly, he was glad that his former teammate had been disqualified just like anybody else would've been. Though he wouldn't have blamed the elderly Hokage, knowing his hands were mostly tied by the civilian council, he still wouldn't have been happy to see Sasuke get a free pass.

"After the tournament, the victor of the tournament will fight against Uchiha Sasuke in an exhibition match." Announced the proctor, placating many of the civilians who felt that they may get their money's worth after all.

Naruto clenched his fists in irritation at the favouritism shown towards Sasuke but accepted that the Hokage had done what he could in the situation to satisfy all parties.

He just felt it was unfair that the Uchiha, who would still be at full strength when the time came, having yet to battle, would get to fight the victor of the tournament, who was liable to be in a much worse condition.

If, in those extremely favourable odds, Sasuke won, then the crowd would just perceive it that he was clearly the strongest there, even though he would have only fought one battle against a tired opponent.

Naruto resolved himself then and there that if he won the finals, he'd take Sasuke down in the exhibition match afterwards.

Heading back out from the medic bay beside Lee, the blond was just in time to see the selection of the next matchup.

* * *

 **Lee vs Kabuto**

'This can't end well' Naruto thought to himself, realising that he also had yet to see hide or hair of Kabuto.

Running his hand through his sun-kissed hair, Naruto fought off a visible wince as the volume of the audience rose, yelling as, reminiscent of the previous matchup, Lee was declared the winner.

Kabuto, too, had been disqualified for failure to arrive.

Naruto couldn't help but find it suspicious that both Sasuke and Kabuto, both of his temporary teammates, had failed to arrive to the exam.

Though with no solid evidence of anything going on, there was nothing he could really report about it, so he decided to push his doubts to the back of his mind for the time being.

* * *

 **Neji vs Hinata**

Noticing that the next match, which Naruto surmised to be the final match of the first round, had been announced, he turned his attention to his rival.

He nodded at his rival, wishing him luck. Though surprised, as Neji hadn't expected the blond to cheer him on against Hinata, he returned the gesture.

"It'd be too much to ask for you to go easy on her, I know, but please don't go for the kill, Neji." Naruto pleaded, internally knowing that his wish would fall on deaf ears.

"This battle will end as fate has decreed it to." Neji announced before heading into the arena.

Naruto turned his attention to the other Hyuuga who would be battling.

"Hinata, good luck, I'm afraid to say you'll probably need it. Also, if you think he's trying to seriously kill you, please forfeit." Naruto tried to convince the girl but could see the fire in her eyes indicating that she was going to fight her hardest.

To Naruto, the truth was that Neji was clearly the stronger of the two. Having fought Hinata a month ago, as well as having sparred with Neji many times over the last month, the blond couldn't see a reasonable chance that the younger Hyuuga could win.

Unless Hinata had improved by leaps and bounds over the last month, it was unlikely she would defeat her cousin, and even then, Naruto felt that Neji had improved significantly over the last month too.

Unbeknownst to Naruto, Hinata had in fact improved by leaps and bounds over the last month. Training with Kurenai while her teammates each trained with their respective clans, Hinata had begun development of a style she had made to form a defensive version of the Hyuuga's combat style.

Not that her father, Hiashi, had been informed of this, being a staunch traditionalist.

Hinata's confidence was high as she walked down to the arena. Though she wasn't confident that she could defeat her older cousin, she knew that she had worked her hardest, and her crush was cheering her on.

She conveniently chose to ignore that he also cheered on her cousin.

Once both were in their starting positions, they stared each other down.

"It's not too late for you to quit, _Hinata-sama."_ Neji intoned spitefully. "Fate has decreed me the victor this day."

"I know you're still bottling up a lot of pain, Neji-niisan, but I'm going to fight you today!" Hinata declared, her sensei feeling pride well up in her chest at the young girl's rise in confidence. She had full faith that her student could win.

Having said their piece, both dropped into their respective Gentle Fist stances.

"What is that stance supposed to be? You make a mockery of the Hyuuga clan." Neji stated. In the stands, Hiashi couldn't help but agree with his estranged nephew's sentiments, feeling that Hinata was about to disgrace her family.

"What's the matter, Neji-niisan? You seem tense." Hinata bantered, causing some shock among her fellow Konoha Genin, who wondered when she had gained such a confidence boost.

Deciding there was no further need for speech, Neji rushed towards Hinata, launching a flurry of attacks with the Hyuuga's standard Taijutsu style.

On the defensive, the girl mirrored her cousin's movements, matching him almost blow for blow, until she was forced back.

Continuing his momentum, Neji launched a series of jabs, intending to disable Hinata's chakra points in a quick clash.

Hinata decided to make use of her new Taijutsu style and, reacting quickly, dropped into her starting stance and began her counterattack.

Neji was shocked to discover that Hinata was defending fully against his assault with ease, causing him to become irritated.

He withdrew a step and dropped his stance low.

"Hakke Sanjuni Sho!" Neji quietly announced, intending to disable her chakra points quickly while taking his time claiming the victory.

"Shugohakke Sanjuni Sho!" Hinata announced loudly, causing her father to sputter in the crowd.

Neji bounded forwards with his attack, only to be met blow for blow by his opponent, who was able to fend off the entirety of the assault, though she'd developed a light sheen of sweat afterwards from exertion.

Hinata surprised everyone further by launching into a counterattack, several strikes aimed to disable her cousin's chakra points.

Unfortunately for her, he was able to dodge her attack easily before knocking her back with a hard palm strike to the chest.

Hinata coughed out a glob of blood, drawing concerned expressions from the Konoha Genin who were watching in the stands.

"You should surrender before you humiliate yourself further." Neji offered. While he wanted to defeat the girl in front of him, he also recognised the necessity to conserve stamina and chakra where possible.

"You're the only one of us who has given up, Neji-niisan." Hinata stated, referring of course to Neji's belief that fate dictated everything.

At this insult, Neji snapped.

"You know nothing of suffering. To know that your father was killed in the place of another, simply because he was the younger brother. If fate had made my father a few minutes older, he might still be alive." Neji snapped at his opponent, furious that she would disgrace his father in such a manner.

"It's not fate that killed your father, Neji-niisan. I'm sorry that I was abducted and that your father died, but what killed him isn't fate or destiny. If there's anything other than a person to blame, it's the Hyuuga clan's traditions." Hinata stated loudly.

In the stands, her father clenched his fists as her younger sister stared at her angrily, agitated that her 'weakling' of a sister would dare to insult their esteemed clan.

"No, Hinata- _sama._ Despite your rebellion against the clan's traditions, you, a weakling, will always be looked upon more favourably than me, a genius, simply because your father was born before mine." Neji admitted, feeling an intense hatred towards Hinata and the main house of the clan.

Fed up with the back and forth, he then rushed towards her in another assault, similar in style to his first.

Hinata responded to it the same way she had the first time, dodging around her cousin before attempting to launch a counterattack. However, the opening attack had been a feint, and Hinata found herself slightly concussed, staring up at the sky as her feet had been kicked out from under her.

Recovering quickly from her shock, she rolled out of the way of another attack, still surprised that Neji had used a move not of the Hyuuga's Gentle Fist.

Despite the moral conflictions he felt in the stands, Naruto couldn't help but feel slightly proud, knowing that Neji had gotten that little trick from him.

Determined to bring an end to their battle, Neji decided to unleash his best attack.

"Hakke Rokujuyon Sho!" Announced Neji, intending to intimidate the girl with the knowledge of her impending defeat.

As he approached, he gained an expression of horror as he heard her utter words he hadn't expected.

"Shugohakke Rokujuyon Sho!" Hinata announced her jutsu in return, fully intending on defending from Neji's famous sixty-four palms with her new technique.

Neji launched his assault, only to develop an expression of horror as Hinata matched each blow, blocking him perfectly.

However, Hinata's stamina could only hold out for so long and she ended up being hit by the last four of Neji's strikes, bringing her to her knees.

"I still have chakra, so I can still fight!" Hinata declared, standing up shakily, determined to defeat her cousin.

"You fought better than I expected, but as I told you, fate already declared me as the victor before the battle began." Neji shot back in response, delivering a hard palm strike to the girl's stomach, causing her to fall to her knees once more, coughing blood.

"I know that you've suffered a lot worse than this, Neji-niisan, so I won't give up." Hinata rasped, determination still filling her voice.

"You know nothing!" Neji yelled in anger while aiming a jab at her shoulder, knocking the girl to the ground.

"I know more than you think." Hinata said, hoping to convince her cousin to come around, even though a part of her knew it was futile.

"Well, know no more." Neji said, rushing to deliver a strike to the girl's chest, fully intending on stopping her heart.

Gai held him back from behind, intent on stopping his student from making such a foolish mistake.

"That's enough, Neji! The battle is over!" Gai declared.

Hinata fell to the ground, unconscious, making Gai's point clear as Genma declared Neji as the victor.

"Yet more favouritism for the main house. Be glad that your life was saved today, weakling." Neji spat at Hinata, before heading back up to the stands.

Naruto gave him a mildly disapproving glare, but Neji found he didn't much care about what the blond thought at that moment.

Meanwhile, Naruto was severely disappointed in his rival, having hoped, despite reasoning that it was unlikely, that Neji would've been able to let go of his anger rather than trying to kill his own cousin.

"Neji, if we fight. No, when we fight. When we fight, I'm going to show you that all that stuff you're saying about fate is garbage." Naruto declared in challenge, fully intent on defeating his rival to make his point.

"Feel free to try. Fate has decreed that even you won't defeat me today." Neji stated, still riled up from Hinata's words during their confrontation.

Despite how the battle had ended, Naruto held no misgivings towards his rival. He felt that Neji's anger over his father's death was human and justifiable, he just thought that his anger was being misplaced and that he should use it as a motivator to become stronger.

Though, that might've been Shikaku's teachings impacting him.

Shikaku had taught Naruto that when you lost a loved one, you didn't dishonour them by mourning them or by moving on with your life, and that the only way to dishonour a lost loved one is to be swallowed by your past when you could use that pain to make a better future.

These ideals had meshed well with Naruto's previous ideals, the ones that he had all but abandoned after Sakura's death, and as a result he couldn't help but cling to them tightly. In that sense, Naruto had unwittingly adopted the will of fire.

After Hinata had been carried away on a stretcher, the proctor announced a thirty-minute intermission before the next round would be announced.

As one, many in the crowd rushed to search for the nearest restroom, none wanting to miss any of the later action due to an unruly bladder.

Deciding to talk to Shikamaru, as Tenten was unconscious and the tension between himself and Neji was palpable, Naruto repositioned himself in the stands.

They chatted idly, Shikamaru questioning how prepared Naruto was to face any of the remaining competitors, while the latter had turned his attention to the centre of the arena.

Following his gaze, Shikamaru watched as, barely a second later, Kakashi and Sasuke appeared in a swirl of leaves.

"Sorry we're late. Are we in time for the battle?" Kakashi asked, referring to Sasuke's battle in the first round.

"Yeah, you've really messed up this time Kakashi. Sasuke's been disqualified." Revealed the proctor, causing Sasuke to grind his teeth together while glaring at his sensei.

Though Kakashi wanted to contest the decision, he realised that it was neither the time nor place to make a scene and dragged a reluctant Sasuke up to the stands.

Naruto, spotting their approach, grabbed Shikamaru and Neji, surprising the latter, and dragged them to another part of the stands.

"What's up, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked, wondering why his friend seemed so jumpy. Neji, too, was surprised by the blond's behaviour as they had only just been at odds.

"I don't trust Sasuke or Kabuto. There's a weird mark on Sasuke's neck and Kabuto is still nowhere to be seen, so I need people I can trust here." Naruto whispered to the two, drawing serious expressions from them both.

At Naruto's prompting, Neji used his Byakugan to view the 'mark' on Sasuke's neck that Naruto had been referring to, only to see a circle with three tomoe around the inside.

Anko, having watched their suspicious behaviour from another section in the stand, followed their gaze to spot the mark on Sasuke's neck, causing her gaze to sharpen.

In the Kage Booth, the Kazekage, too, had noticed the mark on the Uchiha's neck and held himself back from releasing a grin of satisfaction.

Subtly, he gestured to one of the ANBU in the crowd, a disguised Kabuto.

'My minion did his job, and the mark is in place. I hope you're ready for your part of the plan.' Kabuto nodded very slightly, trying to remain inconspicuous among the other Konoha ANBU.

'When do we move, Orochimaru-sama?' Kabuto signalled, ready to enact the plan.

'After the final round, I want to see Sasuke's performance in the exhibition match and how he'll do with his gift.'

Accepting his master's advice, Kabuto turned to look at Sasuke. Noticing the stare in his direction, despite the mask, Sasuke gave a suspicious glare to the masked Kabuto.

But Kabuto wasn't worried.

After all, adorning Sasuke's neck was the Cursed Seal of Heaven.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Thanks for reading chapter 6 of Ripples and Consequences. I've been honestly overwhelmed by the positive responses after the release of the previous chapter.**

 **The story's new cover image was taken from** **p/BkKt0FlgZ8z/?igshid=1jxx6y3mcfy56 &utm_source=fb_www_attr with permission from the creator, and was edited by myself.**

 **I will admit, the Temari vs Tenten fight is essentially the battle that happened in the anime, I felt it was important to keep it mostly the same since there hadn't been any major changes for either character up to now.**

 **I hope you'll continue to follow the story as we proceed into the finals of the Chunin Exams. Chapter 7 will be out soon.**

 **Until then, Ja Ne!**


	7. Chapter 7

Ripples and Consequences

Chapter Seven: Chunin Exam Finals/Invasion Pt 2

 _ **Exam Arena:**_

Once the intermission had ended, everyone's excitement was at its peak, waiting for the second round of the finals. Naruto couldn't help thinking that his battles to come were going to be intense.

All the remaining candidates were stood in a row in the centre of the arena. Naruto, Neji, Shino, Lee, Temari and Gaara all stood in a line, eager for their next battles to be announced.

In the Kage Booth, Hiruzen smiled as he looked at the next generation of Genin. He felt that he could hope for a better future with these kids leading the way in the next few years.

During the intermission, the Hokage and Kazekage had agreed on a change to the style of the final battles.

As there were six competitors remaining, the final would end up with three competitors rather than two, and so the new arrangement had been made.

Each of the remaining Genin would draw lots, ranging from numbers one to six. From there, pairs would be formed, and the newly formed teams would battle until only one team was left standing. From there, the two remaining Genin would be declared the joint winner of the exams.

Projecting his voice, Genma explained the new rules to the Chunin hopefuls as well as to the audience. Many of the Genin were in shock and were glancing at their potential partners/enemies.

Genma offered each of the Genin the box to draw a folded slip of paper from, instructing them to open it once everyone had drawn their numbers and to move into their pairs.

Opening them as one, each of the Genin looked intently at their numbers.

Naruto looked at his number, 4, and wondered who his partner would be.

"So, it seems we're a pair. Fate seems to be on your side today, Naruto." Neji stated, displaying his number to the blond.

"How did you know I was number four?" Naruto asked, spying Neji's number three.

Neji deadpanned, causing Naruto to scratch the back of his head sheepishly, realising he'd forgotten about his rival's bloodline limit.

Meanwhile, Shino and Lee formed a pair, leaving Gaara and Temari as the final pair.

Despite himself, Naruto couldn't help but be glad for the fact that none of the Konoha Genin were paired with Gaara.

Though he couldn't tell what it was, he knew something about Gaara was off. He somehow felt a kinship with the crazed redhead.

Pushing those thoughts to the side, he turned to his teammate.

Despite their ongoing feud, the blond was glad that out of all the Genin, Neji was his teammate. Naruto felt that the other Genin wouldn't have been helpful teammates.

Temari would likely only be a liability when her brother decided to kill them, while Lee would likely just rush to fight his 'eternal rival' Neji. While he wasn't sure how Shino would fare, he felt that the insect user was unlikely to defeat either of the Suna Genin.

Yeah, Naruto was definitely glad for Neji being his teammate.

Despite Neji's abilities being ill suited for fighting either Gaara or Temari, Naruto felt the Hyuuga would be able to fight both Shino and Lee at once, leaving him the task of taking care of the Suna team.

Once all the pairs had gathered, the proctor announced for the teams to move to their designated starting areas so that the battle royale could begin.

Naruto and Neji shared a glance before both nodded in agreement of a plan.

Everyone in the crowd was excited for the battle to come. Many of the Konoha civilians and shinobi were hoping to see one of the Konoha teams, ideally Shino and Lee, come out as the victors against Suna.

They would sooner see the other Konoha duo win than the Suna team, but those who believed in Naruto were few and far between. In fact, many felt that he would just hold Neji back.

Everyone was on the edge of their seats, waiting for the grand battle to begin.

Orochimaru, meanwhile, was also on the edge of his seat.

Preparing to signal the invasion.

* * *

 _ **Konoha Outskirts:**_

Suna and Oto shinobi were gathered in encampments, just out of the range of the watchtowers on the borders of Konoha. Although, even if they were in the range of those watchtowers, the allegiance of the guards was already ensured.

They had been ordered by the Kazekage and Orochimaru respectively to attack the village the moment the Ichibi came into vision. Thus, they all awaited Gaara's transformation.

Little did the Suna shinobi realise that their Kazekage had already been murdered, and that he was now being impersonated by the treacherous snake Sannin.

Unlike the Konoha shinobi, who would be caught off-guard and completely unprepared for an attack, the Suna and Oto shinobi would be well-rested and prepared to crush the village in its entirety.

If all went according to Orochimaru's plan, the Hidden Leaf was doomed.

* * *

 _ **Exam Arena:**_

Lee and Neji shared a glance before nodding, mutually agreeing to take out who they saw as the biggest threat in this battle.

Meanwhile, Naruto lightly flared his chakra in a style not unlike morse code.

Shino received the message through the kikai insects that he had planted on the blond, though he was unsure of just how they had been detected.

He nodded, accepting the message, and turned to face their mutual opponent.

As one, Lee and Neji rushed towards Gaara. Jumping into the air, Neji launched a barrage of kunai at the redhead only for it to be blocked by sand.

Gaara's automatic defence had activated.

Temari moved to get between the members of Team 9 and her younger brother but was cut off by a chakra enhanced kick from Naruto, which sent her flying into an arena wall.

Getting up quickly, the Suna kunoichi attempted to launch a wave of wind at Naruto using her fan. However, the attack came out a lot weaker than anticipated and the blond easily jumped over it.

Shino launched more insects out of his sleeves, revealing the kikai insects covering Temari's back which had been slowly draining her chakra reserves before the battle had started.

Scoffing in irritation, Temari surrounded herself with her Fuuton chakra, shredding all the kikai insects that were on her, while also damaging her attire.

Naruto held back a nosebleed at seeing her barely-covered breasts, but dismissed the thoughts invading his mind to defeat his opponent.

Directing their opponent to one side of the arena, Shino and Naruto gave their respective teammates room to battle against Gaara.

* * *

 _ **Neji and Lee vs Gaara:**_

Neji jumped high in the air, throwing kunai to test their opponent's defence. Meanwhile, Lee appeared behind the redhead in a burst of speed, launching a roundhouse kick.

Simultaneously, both attacks were stopped by Gaara's automatic defence, even though he was unable to see Lee.

Maintaining a stoic expression, Gaara launched a hail of sand bullets at his airborne opponent, intending to take out one of his opponents in a single stroke.

However, Neji suddenly started to spin.

In the crowd, Hiashi gasped in shock.

"It couldn't be! How could a member of the branch family know a main house technique?" Questioned Hiashi aloud, Hanabi's expression showing similar shock.

Neji had activated the Kaiten. Spinning in a dome of chakra, the Hyuuga Genin was easily able to withstand the sand bullets.

Lee, not remaining idle, launched blow after blow against Gaara's shields at rapid speeds, each slightly faster than the previous.

Eventually, Gaara grew irritated of the nuisance and launched an attack at Lee, cocooning the spandex-clad Genin in chakra.

However, the redhead was shocked when Lee suddenly burst through the cocoon, landing a solid punch that sent Gaara skidding back a few steps.

Holding a hand to his face, Gaara panicked.

"What is this? Is this blood? Is this my blood?"

Gaara freaked out. Arms of sand launched themselves at Lee, attempting to crush him in response to Gaara's own anger.

Lee nimbly dodged the assault by backflipping far away from his opponent, while Neji quickly closed the gap.

Neji threw a kunai at point blank range, but even then Gaara's sand rose up and deflected it, sending it flying high into the air.

"A little more to the left" Neji stated, jumping high over Gaara while launching a blast of air downwards, prompting further shock from Hiashi in the stands at Neji's knowledge of the advanced technique.

Gaara's sand deflected even the air palm technique, but that had been Neji's plan all along.

Using the backdraft from his own attack, the Hyuuga was able to launch himself higher into the air, where he grabbed the kunai that was mid-fall and threw it even higher, channeling chakra into it.

Not noticing this, Gaara prepared to catch Neji out of the air to attempt to crush his agitating opponent.

Gaara was forced to withdraw his sand as Lee threw something at him, prompting his automatic defence to rise to block the foreign object.

However, Gaara's sand couldn't completely defend against Lee's leg weight which he had thrown at the redhead, causing him to be knocked back slightly to his left.

Neji smirked midair as his plan came together.

Landing softly, he threw another kunai at the redhead to distract his defences while Lee, free of his weights, prepared to launch himself at his opponent.

Gaara made a motion of closing his fist, intent on crushing Neji with the sand that he had scattered around the arena.

Unfortunately for the Suna Genin, Neji's Byakugan meant he was aware of Gaara's sand, and he vanished in a burst of speed.

Many of the Hyuuga who were watching in the stand looked down at Neji in disdain, angered by his seeming abandonment of his clan's traditions in favour of fighting at range.

In contrast, the Hokage was impressed by the young Hyuuga. Despite his staunch traditionalist family, Neji had abandoned such pointless sentiments to fight as a true shinobi.

'Knowing young Gaara's burden, I feel that this may be the right path for you, Neji.' Thought the Hokage, internally worried for his Genin who were facing against the Suna Jinchuuriki.

That fear only doubled when Neji's plan came to fruition.

Lee launched an attack at Gaara, distracting his attention, when suddenly, the kunai that had been launched airborne fell.

Gaara's defence rose in a feeble attempt to block the falling kunai, but with the chakra Neji had charged it with, plus the momentum it had gained from falling over eighty-feet, it punctured right through.

Not just his defence, or his sand armour, the kunai punctured straight through his shoulder, leaving a gaping hole.

Gaara stared at his shoulder in mute horror before suddenly letting out a horrific scream and beginning to use the Ichibi's chakra.

* * *

 _ **Shino and Naruto vs Temari:**_

Temari launched a large wave of wind at Naruto, intending to shred him to ribbons as vengeance for the Genjutsu that he had casted over her previously.

Naruto didn't even dodge, intent on taking the full extent of the attack.

Shino concealed a smile behind his collar, knowing the blond's intentions.

Waving goodbye at his opponent, Naruto's clone dispelled in a burst of smoke.

Temari looked wide-eyed in shock and made to launch an attack at Shino. However, as she did, she heard a familiar voice sound in her ear.

"You're hot when you're mad, Temari." Naruto whispered in her ear, causing her to bristle in anger.

Temari made to attack the blond before being completely frozen by his next words.

"It's too bad, at this rate your brother might go down before you do." Temari looked over at her brother on the other side of the arena, only to find herself in complete shock.

Gaara's eyes were turning yellow and he was clearly enraged. Temari's horror, however, stemmed from the puncture in his shoulder that was oozing blood.

As far as she could remember, nobody had ever been able to wound her brother, but this group of Genin had done so with relative ease.

'What kind of Genin is Konoha raising that they can stand up against my brother?' Temari questioned internally.

Steadying her resolve, Temari decided she would be the one to protect her younger brother, who had never needed protecting from anyone.

Channelling chakra into her fan, the Suna kunoichi shot a blast of wind beneath her and went airborne, shocking both Naruto and Shino.

Both were forced to evade as they were bombarded by blasts of wind.

Naruto jumped back and launched several kunai at the girl, only for her to deflect them with wind.

Temari pursued the blond especially, feeling he was the bigger threat. She launched another torrent of attacks while flying closer to him on top of her fan.

Naruto backflipped away before tripping on his feet and landing flat on his rear.

Temari grinned before getting in close to Naruto, intent on ending it in a single blow.

"Sorry about this, brat. Honestly, you're my type, but I have bigger things to worry about right now." At this, Naruto too let out a grin.

When she was close enough, Naruto spoke at a volume so that only she could hear.

"Then, after your invasion has failed, would you go on a date with me?"

Temari froze in complete shock. Not only had this Konoha Genin seen through the plans of the invasion, which should be completely private, but he also had the gall to still ask her out anyway, even though she was about to defeat or kill him.

"How do you know about the invasion?" Temari hissed at him, determined to find out where their information leak was.

"Age old information gathering tactic. I didn't know, you just confirmed it for me." Naruto revealed, having taken that little tactic from Shikaku who had used it on him several times when asking about his training.

Temari paled as she realised she'd just unintentionally told the enemy about the impending invasion before coming to a realisation.

'If I kill him, then this brat can't tell anyone' was the thought running through Temari's mind.

Determined to kill Naruto before he could reveal their invasion plans, Temari readied herself to take his life.

She couldn't help but freeze in horror at the smile on his face.

He practically reeked of bloodlust in that moment, she'd never been so terrified of anyone except her brother.

His blond hair appeared wilder, casting a shadow over his now-crimson eyes that she could make out. In that moment, Temari felt true fear as the blond's whiskers had thickened and his eyes were now vulpine-like slits.

Freezing turned out to be Temari's mistake as Naruto reached up and, with a single claw, slit her throat, spraying her blood everywhere.

Temari blinked in shock as she found herself still in the same position she had been in, looking down at the blond. Only, his eyes remained a cerulean blue, his head tilted in an unasked question.

His innocent smile belayed the sadistic emotions he was suppressing. Naruto was fully aware of what the now-pale Suna kunoichi had seen.

After all, his Genjutsu skills had been improving as late.

"W-what was that?" Temari stuttered in fear, her resolve dimming.

"Just a warning of what will happen if you try what you're thinking of trying." Naruto warned the girl, though he didn't really want to kill her.

After killing another Genin in the forest, Naruto had steadied his resolve to be able to kill another. However, he didn't really want to have Temari's blood on his hands.

That he thought she was attractive had nothing to do with it. Really.

Despite his warning, Temari couldn't help but glance over at her younger brother who was still transforming.

Following her glance, Naruto let a small smile adorn his face as he realised that, like him, she was fighting to protect another.

Temari made to attack Naruto, knowing that she was only bringing about her own death.

Naruto, however, had been impressed by her willingness to sacrifice herself to try to save her brother. Only, he felt that it was pointless to sacrifice yourself if it doesn't even save the person you're trying to protect.

Perhaps he had lost a little of his empathy. While he could respect the idea of sacrificing himself to save another, he also didn't want to die a pointless death that didn't even save anyone.

Going through handsigns faster than Temari's eyes could follow, Naruto casted a Genjutsu over her.

Temari's eyes fluttered before closing, signalling the end of Naruto and Shino's battle against the Suna kunoichi.

* * *

 _ **Neji and Lee vs Gaara:**_

Both Neji and Lee had been peppering the red-haired Genin with various weapons to no avail.

Neji was in awe at the amount of chakra that Gaara was generating, witnessing the entire process of the transformation through his Byakugan. For that reason, neither himself nor Lee, who were both mainly Taijutsu users, were willing to rush at the redhead.

As one, Naruto and Shino appeared beside their respective teammates, all ready to take Gaara down together.

Up in the Kage Booth, Orochimaru was grinning, waiting to see his 'son' crush all the Konoha Genin so that he could signal the beginning of the invasion.

Little did Orochimaru realise that his plans had just become known.

Anko had taught Naruto a language of handsigns to communicate with her if he needed to communicate an urgent message.

Naruto had swiftly performed a set of those handsigns after performing the Genjutsu on Temari. Because of this, Anko was now aware that Suna was planning to betray them.

Whilst Orochimaru was plotting, Anko had communicated this to a squad of ANBU outside of the arena, who had passed the message along a chain of command.

Not the direct chain of command, as announcing they were aware of the invasion while the Kazekage was in close proximity of the Hokage would only put their beloved Sandaime's life at risk.

Instead, the message had been delivered to the elders, Koharu, Homura and Danzo.

* * *

 _ **Hokage Tower:**_

Danzo seethed in anger at the exposure of Orochimaru's plan. He had made a deal with the traitor Sannin that he wouldn't interfere in exchange for a certain surgery that Orochimaru was to perform.

However, if Danzo didn't act to prevent the invasion when there was strong evidence that he had known, he could end up being trialled as a traitor.

At this point in time, he couldn't afford a public trial.

'Curse you, Uzumaki.' Danzo thought spitefully, thinking that things would've been so much simpler if Hiruzen had simply allowed him to take the Jinchuriki into his ranks.

However, Danzo had another way that he could keep his end of the deal.

Taking control of the village's shinobi forces, the old war-hawk ordered the men to primarily defend the eastern side of the village, namely the Hokage Tower itself and the clan compounds.

While this order made sense to the other elders, it had another purpose. Most of the battling would occur in other sectors of the village, plus it meant that Danzo's root headquarters, hidden within the same sector as the clan compounds, would be protected by the unknowing shinobi.

It was a shame for Danzo that this wasn't the only obstacle to Orochimaru's plans.

* * *

 _ **Konoha Genin vs Gaara**_

Gaara's transformation was horrifying for many in the audience. His eyes had turned yellow and his right arm was now monstrous and composed entirely of sand.

Naruto and Neji weren't having a very good time fighting Suna's Jinchuriki either.

Lee had attempted a blow at Gaara's back after activating the first of the eight gates. Even with his speed amplified exponentially, he was thrown into a wall with a loud crunch.

Neji was horrified as his Byakugan enabled him to see what had happened. Lee had survived, but many of his leg bones had been crushed. It was unlikely he'd ever be a shinobi again.

Per an order from Naruto, which Shino followed as he deemed it logical, Shino had forfeited the match and gotten out with his teammate, leaving only Naruto and Neji remaining.

Neither of the two were without injuries of their own though.

Naruto was covered in cuts from his battle with Temari and fighting Gaara had caused many of his wounds to open.

Neji, however, was faring far worse.

One of his eyes was tightly closed, blood flowing from a head injury getting into his eye. His right arm was broken, having almost been crushed by an attack from the sand user.

Neji was also sure that at least two of his ribs were broken.

Gaara willed a large amount of sand to slam down on the two, causing them to jump apart. Naruto came up with a plan to remove Neji from the fight so that he could make use of the Kyuubi, but he needed to time it carefully.

Naruto charged forward at a much slower speed than before, his wounds catching up to him as he resolved himself to defeat Gaara.

Neji ran alongside him, his broken arm dangling uselessly at his side, but he was determined not to quit.

Naruto formed a familiar cross-shaped handsign and summoned a veritable army of shadow clones, draining most of his remaining chakra. Both were more than aware that if this attack failed, they would lose the fight.

Though Neji saw forfeiting as a valid option if he sustained any further injuries, Naruto knew that there was no way he could walk away from this fight with the impending invasion.

He couldn't be sure, but his guess was that Gaara's full transformation would signal the start of the invasion. Because of this, he knew he had to defeat the redhead before he could fully transform.

Many of his Kage Bunshin were crushed in an instant, but they had bought him all the time that he needed.

Blurring through handsigns, Naruto casted the forced sleep Genjutsu he had used to take out Temari, subtly targeting Neji.

What he couldn't predict was that Neji could see his chakra flow through his usage of the Byakugan.

Baiting the blond by changing direction, Naruto's Genjutsu was instead casted on to Gaara, and it was almost as though time came to a stop.

* * *

 _ **Kage Booth:**_

Orochimaru grinned, recognising the Genjutsu that Naruto had used. If Gaara fell asleep, then the Ichibi would claim possession of his body, signalling the beginning of the invasion.

This was the moment that Orochimaru had been waiting for, plotting for, and salivating over for years.

Ever since Minato had been chosen to become the Yondaime Hokage instead of him, Orochimaru had devoted all his research and time to destroying Konohagakure.

No matter how long it took, the snake Sannin longed to see this village burn.

Of course, his primary goal for the time being was Uchiha Sasuke, but the village wouldn't know that until it was already far too late.

For now, Orochimaru would just settle with killing the Sandaime. He'd long since lost his emotional attachment to his former sensei, and now felt that killing him would be the most effective way to get his revenge.

Uzumaki Naruto had been a thorn in his plan, but now everything was finally about to begin. Internally, he hoped that Gaara would kill off the blond Uzumaki, but he couldn't help feeling conflicted.

As much as he wanted the young Uzumaki to die, he didn't want to kill Anko's apprentice. Perhaps Anko was the only attachment he had kept to the village.

Though he had used her, experimented on her, and given her the initial prototype of the cursed seal before casting her out, he still felt some pride in his apprentice.

He had altered her memories so that she would never remember what truly happened that day, similarly to what Itachi had done to his own younger brother.

Standing from his seat, he threw off his veil, revealing his true face to the Konoha shinobi around him, causing mass panic, before moving to engage the Sandaime.

Hiruzen also arose, donning his battle armour as he faced against his treacherous student.

For that brief moment, though it felt like an eternity to many, the Chunin Exam was forgotten about.

Unknowingly, Naruto had just changed the course of destiny completely.

* * *

 _ **Naruto and Neji vs Gaara:**_

Unlike the towering monster that Orochimaru had been expecting, Gaara was instead a quivering mess on the ground.

"MOTHER! WHERE ARE YOU MOTHER? UZUMAKI, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MOTHER?" Gaara screamed in anguish, his hands clutching his head. He was completely unnerved by the silence in his own mind.

Naruto and Neji stood, stunned by Gaara's screaming.

They both looked at each other and shrugged, clueless as to what exactly was going on.

Though Naruto was half-convinced he imagined it, for a moment he thought he could hear a booming laughter in his mind. One that was full of malice and mockery in equal parts.

All those in the crowd watching were stunned also, but the Suna shinobi were horrified.

Despite Orochimaru attacking the Sandaime, none of the Suna shinobi could move from their spots, seeing their 'ultimate weapon' brought to its knees by a mere Genin.

Though nobody could tell what had happened, Naruto had unknowingly succeeded with his Genjutsu.

He had succeeded far better than anyone could have ever expected. Even Kurenai, Konoha's Genjutsu Mistress, couldn't have done what Naruto had just accidentally done with a C-rank Genjutsu.

Naruto's own chakra reserves ran out right as he casted his Genjutsu, leading to the events that were unfolding in front of him. On his stomach, the seal containing the Kyuubi had siphoned the fox's demonic chakra, empowering Naruto's Genjutsu. As a result, the one effected by the sleeping Genjutsu wasn't Gaara, but rather the Ichibi itself.

With a C-rank Genjutsu, Naruto had just defeated a tailed beast.

Gaara was then knocked unconscious by Neji, who was struggling to stand.

In a moment of victory for the blond, the proctor dropped by his side.

" **Team Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Neji wins the Chunin Exams!"**

This declaration circulated around the entire arena, alerting everyone that Gaara's defeat was official.

Orochimaru turned from his deadly battle with the Sandaime and looked in muted horror.

His entire invasion plan was in tatters, the Suna shinobi in the arena had lost their will to fight, and his own shinobi along with the Suna contingency outside the village was waiting on a signal that wouldn't be coming.

Unfortunately for Hiruzen, he too was distracted by his pride of the blond's victory.

Orochimaru knew he only had one chance and struck, somehow feeling bitter that it had come to this.

He landed a slash on Hiruzen with his Kusanagi blade, which he had laced with poison. Though he internally felt slightly sad about killing his sensei in such a hollow manner, he had no choice in this instance.

Hiruzen recovered quickly, lunging at his former student. Orochimaru, however, had completed his mission and disappeared in a burst of speed.

In the arena, both victorious Genin collapsed, satisfied smiles on their faces as they looked at each other and at their defeated opponent.

Many of the Suna shinobi had recovered from their shock and were preparing to attack when their Jonin Commander, Baki, intervened.

Konoha Jonin took all the Suna shinobi into custody, the majority of which surrendered without any resistance.

It would be after everything was wrapped up that Suna would be glad it hadn't fought, their Kazekage never having been present for the entire invasion.

Outside of the village, the Suna shinobi received a missive from Baki, telling them of Orochimaru's betrayal.

In a surprise attack, and in the hopes of being granted some mercy from Konoha, who now clearly had the upper-hand, Suna swiftly brought the Oto shinobi down.

Out of all the Oto forces, only the Sound Four, Orochimaru and Kabuto had successfully escaped.

This signalled the end of the invasion, with Konoha securing victory with minimal casualties.

Suna had surrendered and many of the shinobi were kept in custody until such a time where peace negotiations could be arranged.

Unintentionally, unknowingly, Naruto had become a hero.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Thanks for reading Chapter 7 of Ripples and Consequences.**

 **Thanks for all your reviews so far, I was glad to see so many people enjoyed my previous chapters, and I hope you'll all continue to read.**

 **This might seem like a cop-out in terms of bringing an end to the Chunin Exams, but I felt that this was the right way to go, especially as Naruto is becoming a more distinguished shinobi.**

 **You'll notice that his Genjutsu have all still been D or C-rank, which is predominantly because of his chakra control. Though he's growing in leaps and bounds, I wanted to try to keep a reasonable growth rate, and especially at this stage, Naruto casting A-rank Genjutsu or being a 'master' of Genjutsu seems pretty unreasonable.**

 **Cover image comes from cat_anime_1996/?hl=en**

 **Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Review if you feel like it! Ja Ne!**


	8. Chapter 8

Ripples and Consequences

Chapter Eight: Promotions and Prospects

* * *

 _ **Hokage Tower:**_

Naruto had been awakened early the morning after the Chunin Exam by a summons from the Hokage. While he wanted to sleep in, the blond was also eager to find out if he had been promoted.

On his way to the tower, Naruto had noticed he was getting a lot more stares than usual. That wasn't what surprised him though. He couldn't help noticing that there had been a lot less general hostility directed at him than he was used to.

If anything, some of the younger villagers who had witnessed his performances in the Chunin Exams seemed to gaze at him with admiration.

Arriving at the tower, Naruto was ill-prepared for the solemn atmosphere that had descended over those inside.

After being signed in by the secretary at the front desk of the tower, the blond ascended the stairs to the Hokage's office.

Once the blond entered the office, he noticed his comrades from the previous battle, Shino and Neji, stood in line. Lee, though, was notably absent.

Quietly, Naruto fell into line with the two while waiting patiently for the Hokage and elders to elaborate on the reason they had been summoned.

Hiruzen stood tall, looking every part the powerful shinobi who had been named the village's Kage decades prior.

Once everyone was assembled, Hiruzen began to speak.

"Naruto-kun, Neji-kun."

Both who were called raised their heads to pay full attention to their leader.

"Congratulations on your victory in the exams, you both performed admirably and did your village proud."

They beamed in response to the praise, Naruto had a large smile adorning his features. Thinking back, Naruto was surprised that there were two winners chosen for the Chunin Exams, as that was completely unheard of.

In truth, it had originally been planned that the two remaining competitors would battle each other. However, Hiruzen had been expecting the final competitors to be Naruto and Gaara.

Because of Gaara's defeat, he had decided to announce the end of the exams, primarily because the invasion had been prevented, but also because he felt that the two battling then and there would've been rather lacklustre for the crowd as both were heavily injured.

"You've all been assembled today so that the promotions to Chunin can be handed out." Revealed the Sandaime Hokage, much to the anticipation of the Genin that were gathered.

"We'll start by team order. Team seven, step forward." At this, both Naruto and Sasuke stepped forward, anticipating their feedback.

"Kabuto, unfortunately, is still missing. However, we have reason to suspect he was working with Orochimaru and have declared him a C-rank missing-nin for the time being." Elaborated Hiruzen, much to Naruto's shock.

Sasuke, on the other hand, wasn't at all surprised by this revelation. He had thought the silver-haired Genin was suspicious from the moment they had first met. Though, he was surprised to hear that a mere Genin had been working directly under one of the Sannin.

"Sasuke, you did well in the first and second round of the exams. However, your absence in the final round discredits your abilities. Though your sensei informed me of your extenuating circumstances, in the shinobi world there is no place for either lateness or excuses." Evaluated the Hokage, calmly.

Sasuke fumed inwardly but nodded before stepping back into line with the other Genin.

"Naruto-kun, your performance in the exam went above and beyond. Your talents in Genjutsu were stunning, both to myself and to your opponents." Kiba grimaced at this. Despite Naruto's lack of chakra control, his use of the limited Genjutsu that he was able to perform had swiftly defeated each of his opponents.

"Due to your tactical ingenuity, as well as your embodiment of the shinobi expression of looking underneath the underneath, you've more than earned your promotion to Chunin."

Naruto had a grin on his face that was so large that it threatened to split his head in two.

Despite their looks of annoyance, the elders reluctantly granted the blond his Chunin vest, as well as a scroll which he was quickly instructed to read in the privacy of his own home.

Naruto stepped back into line with the others, trying to contain his emotions.

Continuing quickly, the Sandaime called on the next team.

"Team eight, step forward." Following their Hokage's orders, the three members of team eight awaited to hear evaluations of their performances.

His eyes met with Hinata's and he gave a grandfatherly smile to the young girl, drawing a shy smile in response.

"Hinata, you performed well in the battle against your cousin."

Neji wanted to scoff at this but was trying to be nicer to the girl. Despite attempting to disregard Naruto's words, the blond's psychological attacks had sunk in a little. On top of this, the blond, whose chakra he was aware was far higher than even most Jonin's, had been able to defeat each of his opponents with Genjutsu, which should've been inaccessible to him.

As a result, Neji had been forced to re-think his opinions on fate. Though he was still unable to forgive his family, he was able to look past his anger enough to realise that he couldn't pin the blame on a girl who had been kidnapped, especially when it had happened when she was only four years old.

"However, your performance wasn't quite at the level that we require of our Chunin. Remember that in a real mission, there will be times where it is smarter to retreat than to keep fighting." Hiruzen advised. Hinata nodded shyly before stepping back in line with the other Genin.

"Kiba, your performance against Naruto was admirable. While you were defeated, you truly showcased your will of fire and your tenacity."

Kiba beamed at this praise, pleased that the Hokage had seen his 'true' abilities. Before his ego could swell, however, Hiruzen continued.

"Unfortunately, your tenacity may be what let you down here. Rather than devoting that tenacity to winning every battle, it is more important to get yourself and your teammates out alive in impossible odds. While courage is a requirement to be a Chunin, rash judgement is something we can't afford to have in a team leader." Hiruzen elaborated, truly hoping that his message would sink in with the Inuzuka.

Feeling slightly disheartened, Kiba stepped back into line. Despite this setback, he resolved himself to do better next time so that he'd become a Chunin. Even though Naruto had defeated him in the exams, he refused to stay behind the blond for long.

"Shino, out of everyone here, you are by far the most deserving of the Chunin rank today." Everyone looked shocked at this, even Naruto who had already been promoted himself.

Shino, too, was completely in shock at the Hokage's statement, though he carefully concealed his emotions as he had been trained to do. Though he wanted to question the reasoning of the Sandaime's opening statement, he waited for the man to elaborate.

"Despite your opponent's surrender in your first battle, your showing in the final battle more than made up for it. You demonstrated that your abilities are at an appropriate level for a Chunin. More importantly, however, you showcased your tactical thinking, your ability to make quick decisions in combat, and your ability to remain calm in even the most intense situations." Hiruzen continued his praise of the Aburame.

Many of the other Genin were looking at each other and nodding in agreement with the assessment, or looking at Shino's back, impressed by their former classmate.

"What most impressed me, however, was your judgement mid-battle. Both your decision to ally yourself with Naruto to defeat an opponent that you felt would've been more problematic on your own, as well as your decision to surrender so you could get treatment for your injured teammate, proof that the will of fire burns brightly within you. Serve Konoha well, Shino-kun." Hiruzen finished, a grandfatherly smile adorning his features.

Everyone was shell-shocked. With the lengthy explanation given by Hiruzen, they realised exactly what it meant to be a Chunin. Though Shino felt much of the praise was unwarranted, as he had made what he had deemed as logical decisions at each step, he was still proud that the Hokage had recognised his abilities and deemed him fit to be a Chunin, despite the fact he hadn't won the tournament.

Homura and Koharu handed the Aburame his Chunin vest and a scroll respectively, each of them far less reluctant than they had been with Naruto's promotion.

"Thank you, honourable elders, Hokage-sama." Shino said before stepping back into line with his teammates.

"Team ten, step forward." Neji and Tenten looked displeased that they had been skipped for the time being but knew better than to question their Hokage.

Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji all stepped forward, though none were able to raise their eyes to meet their village leader's, feeling that they hadn't performed to the standard of the other teams.

"Unfortunately, I can't rate your performances individually as you were notably absent during the finals." All three hung their heads at this.

"However." Hiruzen began, prompting the three to look up, where they could see a reassuring smile on their leader's face.

"Together, the three of you got through the first stage and, were the competition not so tough, I'm certain you'd have made it to the finals also. My son has praised all of your abilities, and I don't take his appraisals lightly." Expanded the aged Hokage, assuaging the three Genin's self-doubts.

All three members of Team ten nodded in sync before stepping back into line with the others.

"Finally, Team nine." Prompted the Sandaime, leading Neji and Tenten to step forward.

"Unfortunately, Lee-kun is absent due to his injuries, but rest assured that I will pop in for a visit to congratulate him on his efforts. However, know that he unfortunately hasn't become a Chunin this time. I ask all of you, as a formality, to keep this knowledge private until I myself go to see the young man." Asked Hiruzen, drawing nods from all the Genin and newly-promoted Chunin present.

"Tenten, you had the unfortunate circumstance of fighting an enemy whose abilities were in perfect parallel to your own, which left you unable to leave an adequate showing. However, I hope that you will learn from this experience and make sure that no opponent can take advantage of such a weakness so easily again."

Tenten nodded sharply in response, resolve filling her heart as she told herself she would never be defeated so easily again.

"Neji, you performed well in the exams. Although you didn't land the finishing blow on your opponent, it was your tactical thinking and skills that allowed you and Lee to survive for so long before your teammates showed up. On top of that, your refusal to let your teammate handle all the heavy lifting showed your will of fire splendidly." Neji was internally proud at the Hokage's recognition of his abilities.

However, he had an odd premonition that he was about to receive further feedback, one which was quickly proven accurate.

"However, the brutality showcased when you fought against your younger cousin was unbefitting of a Konoha shinobi."

Neji's face fell as he realised that his previous actions were likely to result in him being unable to advance in the ranks.

"In light of your actions in the final battle, as well as your change in attitude, I saw fit to grant you the promotion to Chunin. However, I ask that you have a long chat with Hiashi about the circumstances of your father's passing soon, before departing on any future missions." Neji nodded, deciding that he would follow the Hokage's recommendation since he had given him a chance despite his misgivings.

In a similar fashion to Naruto and Shino, Neji received both a scroll and a Chunin vest, which he quickly donned, from the village elders.

Once the two had stepped back in to line, it was time to conclude the ceremonial promotions.

Hiruzen had spent a long period of time discussing who was fit to be promoted with the elders, and he was beyond exhausted. He felt it necessary to keep up the façade that he was the picture of health for his subordinates, but in truth he was more than aware that he could die any day.

Still, he persisted, knowing that the village needed leadership at this crucial time. He held hope that it wouldn't be long before the next generation was ready to take hold of the reins.

Addressing those that had been called once more, Hiruzen spoke.

"With the recent promotions to Chunin, there will be need for changes to the team formations." At this, everyone was shocked.

Despite knowing that some of the Genin were likely to be promoted, they hadn't really let the fact that their teams would be split up sink in.

"For now, the formations will be as follows. Team seven is disbanded. Team eight will now consist of Uchiha Sasuke, Inuzuka Kiba and Hyuuga Hinata under Yuuhi Kurenai. On top of this, Hatake Kakashi will serve to train each of you individually when he is off missions to bring you all up to scratch." Turning to each other, the three nodded, determined to become Chunin in the next exams.

Sasuke and Kiba were still annoyed that Naruto had beaten them to becoming a Chunin but resolved themselves to do better in the next exam.

"Team nine is disbanded until such a time where Lee has completely recovered from his injury." Tenten and Neji both looked shocked at the Hokage's decision.

"For the time being, Tenten will train under Gai as his temporary apprentice until the permanent status of the team can be confirmed. Team ten will remain as is. Now, all Genin are dismissed." Recognising their dismissal for what it was, all the Genin filed out of the room, leaving only the Sandaime, elders and the three newly promoted Chunin in the office.

* * *

"Naturally, anything said in this room from this point onwards is not to be repeated to any of your comrades, need-to-know basis." Hiruzen explained, focusing the attention of all three on him.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Intoned the newest addition to the Chunin forces.

"Neji, I expect a serious correction of your attitude in the coming days. I was hesitant to promote you but decided to have faith in you and your abilities to fit you on to this team." Neji nodded, but all three were curious about his mentioning of a team.

"As of now, the three of you are members of the Hunter Nin-Corps." Hiruzen explained, drawing looks of shock from Naruto and Neji, though Shino merely raised an eyebrow.

Naruto couldn't help feeling excited. His sensei, Anko, had forewarned him that he may be offered a position in the ANBU, but he had instead been drafted for the Hunter Nin-Corps, though he felt the appointment seemed odd.

"Hokage-sama, not to question your judgement, but how does Naruto-san fit into a hunter squad? Though I can logically determine your reasoning behind electing myself and Neji-san, it seems odd to form a three-man team." Shino questioned the Hokage, not intending to undermine the man, but also wondering as to the function of his new team.

"Don't question Hokage-sama's decision, boy." Intoned Koharu, before being silenced by the Sandaime.

"It's a valid question, Shino-kun. However, I can assure you that Naruto's skillset, particularly his talents in Genjutsu and his use of Kage Bunshin, make him a valid candidate for the team. On top of this, he has already been trained in both stealth and assassination." Shino was placated by this knowledge, though he directed a questioning look at his blond teammate, wondering where he would've received such training as a Genin.

"Ne, Jiji?" Naruto piped up, prompting looks of disdain from the elders.

"Yes, Naruto-kun? Did you have a question about the formation as well?" Hiruzen asked kindly. While he had high expectations of the new team being formed, he was aware that they were all still children, and was in no rush to force them to grow up, unlike the elders.

"Why do my Kage Bunshin make me suited to the team?" Naruto asked, causing Hiruzen to face fault.

Hiruzen had been almost certain that the blond had used the Kage Bunshin training method and that his skills had developed to the point they were at as a direct result. Learning that the blond had achieved what he had without the use of that training method only made his current skill level more impressive considering what it had been a mere two months earlier.

"You see, Naruto-kun, when your Kage Bunshin dispel, their knowledge and memories are imparted to you." Hiruzen explained patiently, though he was visibly disappointed to notice that his lesson hadn't clicked with the blond.

"What Hokage-sama is trying to say, Naruto-san, is that your Kage Bunshin's experiences are retained before being directly transferred to you upon their dismissal." Shino tried to help, but Naruto honestly felt even more confused than he had before.

"Basically, Naruto, if your shadow clone learns a jutsu and then pops, you'll know how to use it too." Neji explained, realising that explaining with jutsu was more likely to help the blond catch on to the point of it.

"Wait, so if I dispel a clone then I learn everything it learns? That's awesome!" Naruto exclaimed. Hiruzen and Shino both facepalmed.

While Naruto had been getting smarter with the aid of both Shikaku and Shikamaru, he still had a terrible tendency to completely miss the points people were trying to make if they weren't interesting.

Naruto contemplated the applications of his Kage Bunshin and then it clicked in his mind.

"So, if I sent a clone into an enemy base, had it read a scroll full of secret intel and then dispel, we'd get the intel without anyone even having to risk their lives?" Naruto questioned, drawing impressed looks from both Shino and Neji.

"I'm glad to see your tactical lessons have been paying off, Naruto-kun." Hiruzen said kindly, pleased with the blond's understanding of how to effectively use his ability.

Naruto failed miserably at holding back a grin in response to the compliment.

Deciding that the team seemed to have asked all the questions that they were going to, Hiruzen continued.

"Now, the real reason why this all has to be kept secret." Hiruzen began, leading Naruto, Neji and Shino all to stand at attention.

* * *

 _ **Underneath Hokage Tower, Cells:**_

Imprisoned beneath the Hokage tower were the sand siblings who had been a part of the planned invasion from Sunagakure.

Until such a time where negotiations of peace had been successfully concluded, Baki had been forced to agree to allow his students to be kept as hostages of war. Though he wasn't happy with the idea, he recognised that their unique status meant that it was unlikely that any harm would come to them within Konoha.

Temari and, to a lesser extent, Kankuro were worried about their younger brother. Since his defeat in the Chunin exams, the redhead had barely uttered a word and had been reluctant to touch any of his meals.

Both had tried to encourage him to no avail. Ever since he had been defeated by Naruto, Gaara felt that he had lost his reason for living.

For as long as he could remember, killing had been all that mattered, and if he didn't kill his opponent's, then he couldn't prove his own existence to the world.

Ever since their uncle, Yashamaru, had been killed after attempting to take Gaara's life, that had been the way that the crazed Jinchuriki had lived.

After his defeat by his fellow Jinchuriki, he had begun to re-evaluate his life. He couldn't help but wonder how the blond, who was like him in more ways than most, had remained so sane. On top of that, defeating him with a skill that was usually considered out of reach for Jinchuriki proved to Gaara that Naruto must have had an extremely strong motivation for fighting.

He felt that he needed to see Naruto fight again to truly understand. Though he had lost his urge to kill the blond, he felt that he couldn't understand what drove him to such lengths until he could witness it again with his own eyes.

For that reason, the redhead decided that he would meet the blond again.

What Gaara was unable to comprehend was Naruto's desire to protect those around him. While Naruto had originally fought for acknowledgement or to become Hokage, he mostly fought so that he wouldn't have to see anyone that he cared about die.

Though he didn't fully understand those feelings, when Gaara looked at his siblings, he almost felt as though he had something worth protecting.

* * *

 _ **Three Hours Later, Village Gate:**_

"Glad to see you boys are ready and on time." Stated the three Chunin's temporary leader.

Naruto thought that this 'first mission' seemed unusual but kept his suspicions to himself. Meanwhile, his teammates thoughts were more focused towards their mission.

They had been debriefed on their mission by the Sandaime before being sent home to prepare for their mission. Each of the three had gathered a month's worth of supplies before setting down to read their respective scrolls.

Though his teammate's own scrolls had remained a mystery to him, Naruto's scroll had presented more questions than answers. Inside there had been a message for the blond from someone unexpected.

He thought back to his time getting ready in his apartment.

 _My beloved Naruto,_

Naruto would be the first to admit that he was shocked to see a letter, much less one that had been given to him by the village elders, begin with that. He gagged a little at the thought that the letter might be from one of the elders before deciding to continue to read.

 _If you're reading this, then unfortunately I won't be around to look after you anymore. I don't know how old you'll be when you get this letter, or how much you'll know about more or the Uzumaki clan, but I'll start from the beginning, dattebane!_

His fears that the letter had been from the village elders had been suitably assuaged. He couldn't help laughing at the verbal tic that had somehow slipped on to paper from the writer, he himself had a similar verbal tic of 'dattebayo' when he got over-excited. More importantly, he was interested to know more about the Uzumaki clan and the writer's connection to it, as well as his own.

 _I hope that, in my absence, your father is raising you to be a fine young man. Though, if he's not I'll be sure to kick his ass!_

Naruto laughed once more but felt a slight pain in his chest. Though it hadn't completely sunk in yet, the blond internally realised that the letter he was reading was from his mother.

 _So, uh, I've never been great at explaining things in a lecture form, that's more up your father's alley to be honest, but I'll try to explain as much as I can without boring you to death. I know that if you're anything like me, a long history lesson is the last thing you want right now._

Fighting back tears, the blond forced himself to keep reading. He had wanted to know about his parents since he was young, and this was the first piece of real information he had gotten.

 _My name is Uzumaki Kushina, though you should know the name of your mother already._

Naruto did, but not for the reason the woman had suspected.

 _I was born in the country of Uzugakure, the birthplace of the Uzumaki clan. Due to circumstances out of my control, I was brought to Konohagakure at a young age to fulfil a certain role. Don't worry though, I don't regret being brought to the village. If anything, I'm grateful, since it brought me the man of my dreams, and more still, it brought me you._

Tears were flowing freely at this point. Naruto was glad that he had decided to read the scroll in the privacy of his own apartment. Moreover, he was really glad that he had been given the scroll. Even if it was only in the form of a letter, he was elated to know that his parents, or at least his mother, had loved him.

After all, there was nothing an orphan wanted more than to know that their parents hadn't abandoned them at birth.

 _For many years, Uzugakure stood strong. Our shinobi were known for their Kenjutsu and Fuinjutsu prowess. However, it was that same Fuinjutsu prowess that led to our destruction. Kiri, Kumo and Iwa allied together in order to crush my home._

Naruto's fists tightened in anger, the realisation that the other villages had taken away his family.

 _I bet it's hurting you to know that our clan has died, right?_

Naruto blinked in shock at the question in the letter, feeling that his mother had predicted his reaction even while writing.

 _I don't want you to hold on to anger against those villages though. Remember that many of the people who are in those villages now are unlikely to even be old enough to remember Uzu, much less be involved in its destruction. Even if it's painful to know that our clan was killed, it's our duty as Uzumaki to bear that pain and carry the torch for the next generation of our clan._

Naruto's fist uncurled, and he couldn't help feeling proud of his mother. His own anger had built up just from reading a short passage about his family's destruction, whereas his mother had survived in the time that it had happened, and still didn't hold on to resentment.

 _More to the point, there's no way the Uzumaki clan would die out that easily._

That short sentence left the blond in awe. He could almost feel his mother's faith in their clan built up in that one sentence. Accepting her words without question, the blond convinced himself that there must be other Uzumaki still out there.

 _I'm certain that some of our clan survived. Maybe you'll meet some of the survivors, or maybe you might meet their children or grandchildren, but I have a task for you, as the only boy in the world I'd ever trust with such a mission._

Conviction building in his chest, the blond resolved himself that, unless it conflicted with his ideals, he would try to complete the 'mission' that his mother had left for him.

 _I won't ask you to hunt down our clanmates that are out there. While it would ease my heart to know that you had more family to look after you, they might already be happy where they are. Your mission, my sochi, is to find the Uzumaki that are suffering and to liberate them. I'd like you to rebuild our clan. With a direct relation to the former clan head, I am, by default, the clan leader of the Uzumaki, making you our direct heir._

 _Rebuild our clan and show the world that it's not the Uzumaki that they should fear, it's what happens when you hurt those they love._

Naruto grinned brightly at his mother's words, recognising his mother's trust in him. While he found it a little overwhelming that he would be expected to oversee the rebuilding of the Uzumaki clan, as well as leading it if he succeeded, he wanted to prove that his deceased mother was right to place her trust in him.

 _As much as I wish I could say I've left you a grand inheritance, that's not the case. Hopefully your father has made sure you're well taken care of if I'm not with you, but I'm sorry for not being able to leave you much of anything._

'You're wrong kaa-san. You left me the most precious thing I could ever have hoped to receive: love.' Naruto thought to himself, noticing that while his own eyes were fighting back tears, there were some dried tears visible on the letter, which he thought must have been his mother's.

 _Make sure you brush your teeth every day, that you eat properly, study hard and remember to always change your underwear. I will always love you, my dear sochi Naruto._

 _Your Kaa-san, Kushina._

Naruto's face was red with embarrassment as he saw the last passage of his mother's letter. However, he couldn't identify the feelings in his own heart at learning that his mother had loved him.

Looking at the time, the blond quickly panicked as he realised that he only had five minutes to get to the village gates. Grabbing his backpack and scrolls from the table, including the one that his mother had left him, the blond sprinted out the door to the village gate, which led us to current events.

For the time being, Shino was considered squad leader, while the fourth addition to their little 'team' was in command of the mission.

Naruto was a little bitter at the fact that he was essentially the bottom rung of the ladder out of their group, but didn't make his complaints known, considering their mission to have already begun.

"You okay, Gaki? You look a little out of it." Stated their superior, leading Naruto to simply shake his head before focusing up.

"If you say so. Ease up a little though, all of you. This mission shouldn't involve combat, it's mostly just so that we can test the waters a little with how you work as a team. You'll need a lot more training before you're ready for your _real_ first mission, so feel free to be casual on this mission. Rather, I order you all to act casual, it'll help with our disguise if you look like you're my Genin team." They were ordered.

Neji, taking the order very seriously, removed his Chunin flak vest and folded it, before putting it into his backpack.

Naruto and Shino had both opted not to wear their vests for various reasons, and thus had no need to follow suit.

Naruto, however, threw a casual orange hoodie on over his shinobi attire. Though his teammates didn't seem pleased with the change in attire, he ignored them in favour of following his orders.

"Ne, Ero-sennin, so where do we find this hag anyway?" Jiraiya choked briefly at Naruto's choice of wording.

"Word of wisdom, Gaki. Don't call her that to her face or she'll gut you." Jiraiya warned, preferring the blond's cheeky attitude over the completely serious one he had been adopted previously.

"An old lady like that? I'm sure she wouldn't be able to move fast enough if she tried." Deciding that he would get nowhere warning the blond, Jiraiya decided to move on with the conversation.

"Well, we might as well all learn a new skill on the move, right?" Jiraiya enquired, hoping to teach each of his 'students' a new technique on their way from the village.

"Hai, Jiraiya-sama." Neji and Shino both intoned, prompting him to shake his head at them.

"Just call me 'sensei' for the duration of this mission, this will be a lot easier if my name doesn't get mentioned too much." Warned the Sannin, prompting all three of the Chunin to nod in response.

Jiraiya threw a scroll each to both Shino and Neji, while throwing a water balloon to Naruto.

"Hey, pervy-sensei, what's the big idea with this balloon?" Naruto asked. Neji had a sly grin on his face at the blond's misfortune, not being given a scroll.

"Neji, in your scroll is Katon: Housenka no Jutsu. I felt that your style is too close ranged and needs some longer ranged attacks. While your clan would probably disagree with you learning it, your performance in the finals showed you aren't short-sighted enough to let yourself get killed because of some traditions that are older than I am." Neji bowed gratefully to the Sannin, internally pleased to have received that kind of feedback from the legendary shinobi.

"Shino, your scroll is for Doton: Yomi no Numa jutsu. This jutsu allows you to create a swamp out of the earth that can either slow or trap enemies. Combined with your kikai, this technique should serve you even better than it does for me. It also works well in tandem with your teammate's abilities." Shino bowed to the man in gratitude, glad that he had been considerate of his clan abilities when he had decided what to teach.

"Naruto, your job is to pop that balloon with your chakra. After that, you'll get another step. I'll assure you now that this is a powerful jutsu, but because of how much chakra it uses, it's something only you're likely to make much use of in the team." Placated Jiraiya, noticing the growing tic mark on the blond's forehead.

Naruto channelled some wind chakra and immediately the balloon popped. Jiraiya gaped at the raw elemental control that the blond had just showed but decided not to inflate the blond's ego.

"Not with wind chakra, you idiot! The key is to spin your chakra to make the balloon burst." Jiraiya yelled at the blond.

"But if I can just pop it like this, why do I have to do it the other way?" Naruto questioned petulantly.

Jiraiya couldn't help the pang in his chest when Naruto said that, reminded that Anko's influence on him was stronger than his own.

Anko had always taught the blond that if there's a quicker, more efficient way to do something without getting yourself killed, then that's what you should do.

However, she hadn't meant it in the case of learning techniques or shortcutting learning a jutsu, Naruto had just chosen to interpret it that way.

Jiraiya threw the blond another water balloon, muttering under his breath all the while about irritating blonds.

Naruto opted to ignore him and focused on channeling chakra into the balloon. Neji subtly turned on his Byakugan and saw the blond's process of performing the technique. He was about to offer a suggestion when, suddenly, the water-balloon popped.

Jiraiya spun around in shock, not having expected any progress on the blond's first try, especially with how impatient he knew Naruto to be.

"Do it again." Jiraiya ordered, throwing the blond another balloon.

Repeating the process, the blond was once again able to pop the balloon with ease.

Truthfully, Naruto's training in Genjutsu, and specifically in chakra control, meant that he had been able to manipulate his chakra to spin fast enough to burst the balloon with ease.

"Well, I'll be. Looks like you are a prodigy, after all." Jiraiya stated, prompting the blond to scratch the back of his head sheepishly.

"Jiraiya-sama, what is so impressive about Naruto-san learning the stage of the technique so quickly?" Questioned Shino. Though he slightly enjoyed when others complimented his own skills, he preferred to witness the growth of others, which made him curious of his teammate's abilities.

"For now, let's just say that more talented shinobi have taken far longer to master this technique." Jiraiya revealed cryptically. Accepting that they weren't going to get more out of the man for now, the team continued to walk alongside their 'sensei.'

Jiraiya was surprised that the three had naturally formed a formation that protected him. While he didn't need protection, especially when his 'guards' were only rookie Chunin, he was impressed by their professionalism.

They continued to travel in silence for a while, until Naruto decided to ask a question that had been on his mind.

"Hey, sensei?" Naruto asked, prompting Jiraiya to look at him questioningly, his teammates also paying close attention.

"Why does the old man think this Tsunade lady can replace him as Hokage?"

Jiraiya's eyes were wide in shock at the question from the blond, whereas both the blond's teammates just seemed confused.

"How'd you find out that little juicy piece of info, brat? Because I'm almost certain that wasn't in your mission brief." Jiraiya said, hoping to learn where there was an information leak.

"Oh, that brief? I only glanced at it. It just seemed really obvious that the old man was looking for this lady to replace him." While annoyed that the blond hadn't read his mission brief, the Sannin was more puzzled by the blond's logic.

"Explain how you came to that conclusion then, Gaki. If you impress me, I might dignify your question with an answer." Jiraiya prompted, wanting to know how the blond's mind worked.

"Well, he seemed really tired when we saw him for our promotions ceremony, though he was trying really hard to hide it, but Anko-sensei taught me how to spot when someone is hiding an injury, so I could tell something was up. Add that in with his lack of public appearances lately, and the fact we're looking for a 'legendary medic' I could only conclude that we're looking for her to either fix the old man up, or to replace him as Hokage."

His entire team, including Jiraiya, were flabbergasted at the blond's logical reasoning. Though he frequently acted like an idiot or did things without thinking them through, they were all able to conclude that a thinking Naruto was a dangerous Naruto.

"That makes sense, though I'm very impressed by it. There's just one thing that doesn't make sense. If you know the old man's injured, why would you ask if we're seeking a new Hokage rather than asking if we're looking for her so that she can heal him?" Jiraiya asked, curious of how Naruto had reached his conclusion with the limited information he had.

"Oh, that? I thought it seemed more likely she'd be coming to be a medic, but I knew that if I asked that, you'd just take the easy option and agree with that. Instead, I asked if she was going to be Hokage to see your reaction." Naruto revealed, drawing an even more shocked look from the Sannin.

"Wait, so you didn't really know she was going to be Hokage, you just thought you'd act like you knew to catch me off guard?" Jiraiya asked. Both Neji and Shino were impressed at how their blond teammate had manipulated their sensei in conversation.

"Yeah, pretty much." Naruto summarised. Jiraiya's mouth was open wide in shock.

"You take after Anko way too much." Jiraiya deadpanned. Naruto beamed at what he perceived to be a compliment as, despite any textbook telling him differently, he felt that his sensei was the ideal for what it really meant to be a shinobi. On top of that, he considered her to be like a maternal/older sister figure, so it filled him with pride to be compared to her.

Deciding they had wasted enough time, Neji piped up.

"Where are we looking first?"

Jiraiya turned to the Hyuuga, recovering quickly from his shock.

"Tsunade's a pretty heavy drinker and gambler, so we'll start with Tanzaku Town. There's a festival going on there currently. If, by some miracle, she isn't there, we'll head to another town." Jiraiya revealed their travelling route to the three Chunin.

Throwing a rubber ball to Naruto, Jiraiya continued.

"Pop that with your chakra on our way, we should be there by tomorrow. Expect resistance."

All the team were filled with trepidation and anticipation at his words. Neji, especially, wanted to bring back Tsunade, hoping that she would be able to heal his former teammate, Lee, who was unlikely to ever become a shinobi again without major surgery.

Meanwhile, Akatsuki began to make their move.

* * *

 _ **Konoha Outskirts:**_

Uchiha Itachi looked upon the village of his birth apathetically. His mission was clear, he and Kisame were to retrieve the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, Uzumaki Naruto.

Both members of Akatsuki donned black cloaks with patterns resembling red clouds featured prominently in the designs. Their faces were concealed by straw hats that covered the entirety of their heads, and both were suppressing their chakra signatures heavily, hoping to find their target before having to engage in combat.

Their timing couldn't have been worse though, as the blond had left the village mere hours earlier.

Kisame was grinning in anticipation. He had been eagerly awaiting a chance for a battle, and finally an opportunity had presented itself. However, he did feel that there was a likelihood of his comrade stopping him from using violence but found that he didn't really mind Itachi too much.

After all, they were fellow kin-slayers.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Thanks for reading Chapter 8 of Ripples and Consequences.**

 **This chapter was mostly focused on the setup of the Tsunade retrieval, as well as the formation of the new squads. Don't worry, we'll be straying a little further from canon next arc, but the Tsunade retrieval arc is necessary for the story.**

 **Pre-empting anyone who would ask, I don't plan for Kushina/Minato to be around any time soon. That letter was to add to Naruto's character development, as well as to help him be a separate individual from Anko and Shikaku, who he has been emulating up until now.**

 **Thanks again for reading. Next chapter will be out soon. Review if you feel like it! Ja Ne!**

.


	9. Chapter 9

Ripples and Consequences:

Chapter Nine: To Be Hokage Pt 1

* * *

 _ **Konoha, Ichiraku Ramen:**_

"Uchiha Itachi. It's a surprise to see someone of your renown in our humble village." Kakashi remarked, preparing for an imminent battle. Asuma and Kurenai were both nearby, similarly prepared to face against the two missing-nin who were sat in the ramen stand.

Itachi, not saying a word in response, stood from his stool and gestured for them to take their battle outside.

Kisame grinned, ready for a battle, and followed Itachi out.

Both Kisame and Itachi vanished in a burst of speed, prompting the three Jonin to give chase.

Fortunately, the two weren't trying to hide, and thus were easily found by the Jonin trio.

Kakashi launched an opening attack, firing a water bullet at Itachi, who merely copied his use of the jutsu with his Sharingan. As the two jutsu collided, Kakashi and Itachi both rushed at one another.

Kisame, meanwhile, grinned as he saw an opportunity to play with his prey.

* * *

 _ **Tanzaku Town:**_

"Right, you kids feel free to work on your new jutsu, I've got some 'research' to do." Jiraiya said, giggling to himself.

Rolling their eyes in sync, the team left the Sannin to his own devices, mutually agreeing that trying to dissuade the man from being a pervert was, at this point, an exercise in futility.

Neji opted to head out, using his Byakugan to scout out a suitable training area. Shino, agreeing with the former's logic, followed along in the hopes of being able to train privately.

Naruto waved them off, himself opting to explore the festival a little before heading back to the hotel room that Jiraiya had booked for the trio. Agreeing that Naruto was more likely to need the key, they agreed that he would hold on to it.

After exploring the town, the blond decided to have some fun in the ongoing festivities.

He started at some of the smaller stalls with the pocket change he had on him, his 'Gama-chan' safely sealed away in their hotel room. However, it was much to the blond's own surprise that he discovered his luck when it came to gambling.

Before long, he found himself ushered into a casino by a young girl who was advertising for them. She had, rather pushily, convinced him to try his luck in a game of poker.

While the blond didn't have much experience playing poker, he decided that he would give the card game a try, feeling that lady luck had been favouring him thus far.

Sitting at the table, he couldn't help but notice a buxom blonde woman sat in one of the other seats. Beside her was a younger girl, though still older than himself, carrying a-

"Wait, is that a pig?" Naruto asked aloud, attracting the dark-haired girl's attention.

"Yes, this is my pig, Tonton." Giggled the young woman, much to the Uzumaki's amusement.

Once all the seats were occupied, the dealer began dealing out cards to each of the players. Naruto looked at his cards, puzzled as to whether his hand was useable. He decided he would bet low, with only a two and three of diamonds in his hand.

Quickly growing impatient with the other blonde at the table, who kept raising the pot even though no cards had been revealed thus far, Naruto decided he would just go all or nothing from the get-go.

"Fine, lady. If that's how you want to play it, all in." Naruto said, pushing his entire stack of chips forward, deciding that even if he lost here, he could just head back to the hotel room.

"Alright, brat. Try not to cry when you lose here." Challenged the blonde woman at the table, pushing all her chips in also. At this point, all the other players had folded, deciding to let the two hotheads at the table wipe each other out first.

Turning the first three cards over revealed an ace of diamonds, an ace of clubs and a four of diamonds. Grinning in anticipation, the woman prepared to collect all the money from the younger blond's sizeable pot.

After several winnings in the outside festivities, Naruto had ended up with more money than he knew what to do with and had bought in at a whopping one-hundred-thousand yen.

Though the woman was slightly anxious at her seeming-victory, having only won at gambling in the past just before losing something important to her, she still grinned smugly at the familiar-looking blond.

Once the final card was turned over, revealing a five of diamonds, the woman savoured the taste of her victory, slamming her cards down on the table, revealing her hand.

With the ace of spades and the aces of hearts, she had a four of a kind of aces, causing all the other players to look at her hand in shock at the rarity of such an occurrence.

"Feels bad taking money from a kid, but you should've just stayed at home with your parents, brat." She taunted, reaching for the table to claim her prize.

"Ah, I guess this hand is no good after all?" Naruto asked, revealing his hand to the table. Though he was slightly disappointed with his defeat, his disappointment turned to confusion at the expressions of his opponent.

Both the blonde woman and the girl with her had their mouths hanging open in shock, while all the other players had completely lost their composure.

"Straight flush beats four of a kind." Spoke the dealer in a monotonous tone, declaring Naruto's victory.

Naruto grinned brightly, realising his gambit had miraculously paid off. He collected his earnings from the table, bringing his total to 180,000 yen before resuming his seat.

"Beginner's luck, brat. Lucky for you I don't have the cash on me for another round." Revealed the woman, shifting out of her seat.

"Ah, that's a shame. I hope we can play again sometime, Tsunade-sama." Naruto intoned, bowing respectfully to his opponent.

Tsunade was pleased with the respect that her opponent had shown her and opted to leave the bar peacefully, ushering her apprentice, Shizune, along with her.

"Uh, Tsunade-sama-" Shizune started, confused about what had just happened in the casino. Though she was confused by the young blond's seemingly miraculous luck, his closing statement had prompted the most questions from her.

"Not now, Shizune. I'm in a good mood, which means I need to get some more money to gamble." Tsunade stated, fully intending to cut off any arguments from her apprentice pre-emptively.

"Did you give that boy your name, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked quickly, prompting a questioning gaze from Tsunade.

Thinking back on the previous occurrence, she wasn't sure how he had known her. She certainly didn't recognise him, despite his appearance making her feel slightly nostalgic for reasons unbeknownst to her. However, what puzzled her most was that he had known it was her, despite her Genjutsu remaining active. Even though she was as old as Jiraiya, she had always prided herself on looking younger with the use of her Genjutsu.

Fortunately, she didn't have to ponder much further, as the boy exited the casino not long after, holding a briefcase in hand. A briefcase that she had very little doubt was full of money.

"Hey kid, how about a little wager?" Tsunade called out to the younger blond.

"I didn't expect to bump into you again so soon, Tsunade-sama. What are the terms of the wager?" Naruto asked, a confident grin in place.

"We'll spar. If I can beat you using only one finger, I want that briefcase you're holding." Tsunade challenged, hoping to rob the, in her mind, unassuming blond blind.

Naruto tapped his chin several times, appearing to think her terms over before coming to a decision.

"Alright, what if I win?" Naruto propositioned, hoping to make his mission significantly simpler by winning this bet.

Tsunade fought to hold back a grin, feeling that she had just suckered the boy into losing his money. Shizune stood beside her, looking concerned at the events that were about to unfold.

"If you win, you can have whatever your little heart desires." Tsunade offered, feeling that it was impossible for the boy to defeat her.

Naruto grinned, accepting her challenge. Opening his kunai pouch, he pulled out his Konoha headband and tied it around his forehead tightly.

Tsunade felt frustration towards the boy, realising that he was a Konoha shinobi, which explained how he had been able to identify her.

"A shinobi, eh? Well, there's no way a mere Genin could get the drop on me." She decided to try to rile the boy up, feeling that he would be easier to predict if he attacked wildly.

"Alright, old lady. Are you ready yet or do you need a nap first?" Naruto returned, turning the Sannin's own game on her.

Despite her anger at his words, she contained herself, realising that he was baiting her the same way she had tried to do to him.

"Whenever you're ready, brat. Don't worry, I'll even heal you after we're done so you can go all out." Tsunade stated, trying to show some benevolence.

"Good to know. Since you were so kind to offer to heal me, I'll offer you a hint too. I'm a Chunin." Naruto revealed, dropping low before charging at the Sannin in a burst of speed.

Though she was surprised at the revelation that the boy was a Chunin at such a young age, she was quick to react to his speed, holding up a single finger while dodging and weaving between his attacks.

Finding her opportunity between his attacks, Tsunade went for a flick with her finger, only to be forced to pull her hand away from the tanto that suddenly appeared between the two.

Though his Kenjutsu skills were impressive, given his short stature and his age, they were nothing Tsunade was unprepared for.

Dodging the boy's slashes, which were slightly overextending and often left holes in his stance, she let a smile play on her face.

"You're not bad for a brat, a shame you won't be winning this fight." Tsunade said, shamelessly declaring herself as the victor mid-battle.

"You're just like Jiraiya. He likes to yell that he's finishing prematurely, too." For the first time in the battle, Tsunade was caught completely off guard.

Not by the reference of her fellow Sannin. No, it was the boy's crude comment about finishing prematurely that had both her and Shizune's faces flushed.

Even as she dodged a slash by a hair's breadth in her shock, Tsunade internalised Naruto's comment as a weapon to use against Jiraiya in the future.

"Where'd you get such a dirty mouth? I hope you don't kiss your mother with that mouth." Tsunade shot back, trying to recover some of her dignity in the process.

"My mother's dead. Plus, I don't think the 'The Legendary Sucker' can say anyone else has a dirty mouth." Naruto fired back in quick succession, pursuing his previous attack while trying to catch the Sannin off guard with his words.

Tsunade wasn't sure which shocked her more, the boy using her own words against her so easily, or the double-entendre he attached to her title that she had received for her misfortune in gambling.

"That's not where I got that nickname!" Tsunade yelled indignantly. In her anger, she forgot about her end of the bet and curled her fist, throwing a punch at the younger blond, intent on taking him out of the fight in a single attack.

She couldn't help cringing as her fist impacted with his body, only to quickly realise she had struck a log.

From behind her, the irritating blond's voice sounded.

"Is it because how much you suck at fighting is legendary? Because honestly, I could believe that at this point compared to Jiraiya." Naruto taunted.

Shizune was in awe at the blond Chunin. Though he couldn't keep up with Tsunade's speed or strength, he was using tricky tactics and riling her up with words alone to lead her to fight sloppily, which enabled him to fight back, if only slightly.

Tsunade fumed in anger before spinning around and delivering an axe kick to the ground, splitting the earth in front of her and forcing Naruto to dodge rapidly. Pursuing her assault, Tsunade rushed forward and landed a solid punch on Naruto's gut.

Only to be shocked when Naruto dispelled in a cloud of smoke.

Her and Shizune both spun in shock, looking for the Chunin only to spot him casually walking out of the casino, revealing that he had never left the building to begin with.

Tsunade couldn't help picturing Orochimaru's visage on top of Naruto's when he spoke his next words.

"Congratulations, you defeated my Kage Bunshin. Looks like you're not as rusty as I thought you'd be." Cocky grin set upon his face, the blond walked towards the stunned duo.

"Ne, Tsunade-Baa-Chan, looks like I win, right?" Naruto asked innocently, his 'mission' personality receding in favour of his regular attitude.

Tsunade prepared to attack the boy for the nickname he had dubbed her with, when she froze at his words.

"You didn't defeat me though, which makes this a tie, right?" Tsunade asked, a confident smiling on her face.

"Ah, but Baa-Chan, you said you'd only use one finger. Unless you count those two punches and that kick as a single finger, I'd say I win this one." Naruto stated clearly.

Tsunade realised her mistake, her face flushing in shame at 'losing' to a Chunin. Though she would've easily defeated him in a battle, she had underestimated him far too much and allowed herself to be manipulated.

"Alright, brat, you've impressed me. What's your name?" Tsunade asked, wondering why she hadn't heard of such a prodigy among Konoha's ranks.

"Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo!" Exclaimed the now-revealed Naruto, shocking Tsunade further. It was at that moment that Tsunade realised why the boy looked so familiar. For certain, he had his father's spiky blond hair and bright blue eyes. However, what the Sannin had recognised was the round face and the fiery attitude of Uzumaki Kushina.

Shizune looked bemused at seeing her teacher's shocked expression. Feeling out of the loop, she decided to stay silent for the time being to see how the conversation would progress.

Naruto, meanwhile, could see the recognition in Tsunade's eyes at his name and realised she must've known about his family.

Though the blond was a little bitter at the Sandaime for hiding his parentage from him, he realised that the man had always been like a grandfather to him and had likely only hidden the information because he believed it to be in Naruto's best interests. On top of that, he was glad that the old man had decided he was ready to learn about his mother.

More importantly than any of that, though, was Naruto's concern for his grandfather figure. He knew that if they were in search of a replacement Hokage, then either the man was dying or was unlikely to continue as a shinobi. Assuming the worst, he didn't want his pseudo-grandfather, who had done his utmost to make sure he was happy and healthy growing up, to die with the regret of thinking he'd made his grandchild, in all but blood, hate him.

"So, I take it that pervert is your sensei, then?" Tsunade asked, referring to Jiraiya. After seeing Jiraiya's last student, she could believe that he had created yet another prodigy.

"Nah, Ero-Sennin asked if I'd be his apprentice, but I'm already apprenticed to Anko-sensei." Naruto revealed, drawing a snort from the blond Sannin.

"Ero-Sennin? That's a brilliant nickname for that degenerate!" Tsunade boomed with laughter. Naruto would've felt bad for his sensei, being viciously insulted by his once-teammate in such a manner, however, the whiskered blond found himself agreeing with her.

Admittedly, Tsunade was shocked to discover that the boy had turned down an apprenticeship from Jiraiya. As much as she hated to admit it, the man was a skilled shinobi and was proficient in training the next generation, as the Yondaime Hokage exemplified.

Though, being trained by Anko explained his vulgar use of language, as well as his style's similarities to Orochimaru, slithering away from her attacks while himself looking for an opportunity.

"Anko-sensei, huh? Never thought I'd hear that one. Still, I think Jiraiya would probably be better suited for training you, Naruto. Especially taking your 'condition' into consideration. Besides, she's not the most, uh, _stable_ person to be training you." Tsunade offered, trying to convince the blond to abandon his current path, fearing that he would turn out to be another Orochimaru.

Naruto snarled in response to the insult at his sensei, who he considered to be closer to being family than anyone else ever had been.

"I've decided what I want for winning the bet." Naruto declared, reminding Tsunade that she had promised to grant him whatever he asked for. While he was internally aware that he should simply ask her to become Hokage or to at least come back and heal the old man, he was agitated from her words.

"Alright, brat, let's hear it." Tsunade offered, intending to keep her word, so long as the young Chunin didn't ask her for something completely unreasonable.

'I'm only agreeing to this because he's Kushina's brat. Anyone else and I might just squash them for annoying me.' Tsunade thought to herself.

"Don't ever insult Anko-sensei again. She's the best sensei I've ever had and a great shinobi. When Kakashi decided I wasn't worth his time anymore, it was her who moulded me into the shinobi I am now." Naruto declared with resolve.

In contrast to before, this time it felt as though she could see the visages of both Dan and Nawaki behind the boy, bringing with it both shock and a feeling of hope that she hadn't felt in a long time.

"Got it, brat. If you're sure that's what you want, I won't insult Anko again. To be honest, I'm more surprised that you've gotten so close to her than her abilities as a teacher. She always closed herself off from everyone." Tsunade spoke, more to herself than to Naruto.

Shizune found herself feeling even more lost with the conversation than she had previously. Though she knew Jiraiya, many of the other things that had been brought up were a mystery to the young woman.

"Anyway, brat. Now that we've got all this sweetness out of the way, it's time you 'fess up on what you're really after." Tsunade asked/interrogated. After many years of being followed by both debtors and shinobi hoping to collect on her exorbitant bounty, Tsunade had learned that there was no such thing as a coincidence like this in the shinobi world.

"Hokage-jiji is badly injured. During the exams, Orochimaru attacked him and I think the old man is dying. Please, if you can, help him." Naruto begged, not wanting to lose one of the few whom he considered to be family.

He conveniently neglected to mention that they also wanted her to become Hokage, having an instinctual feeling of what her response would be. Naruto wisely decided to leave that task to Jiraiya.

Tsunade was shocked. Even though she hadn't stepped foot in the village since Dan and Nawaki had died, she still often thought about her sensei. While she knew that her wizened sensei would eventually die, she never thought it would be from an injury from Orochimaru.

She desperately wanted to ignore the call to return, feeling that staying in Konoha had brought her nothing but pain and loss, but found it difficult to admit as much. Tsunade wasn't sure if it was because Naruto reminded her so much of her kid-brother, Nawaki, or simply because she didn't want her sensei to suffer as he died, but she found herself at a loss for words.

On top of that, the timing all added up too smoothly in her mind. Mere days earlier she had been approached by her estranged teammate, Orochimaru, with an invitation to join him.

Orochimaru had lost many of his subordinates in the failed invasion attempt on Konoha and felt that adding Tsunade to his ranks would more than make up for the loss.

While she was no fan of her snake-like teammate, he had made her an offer that sounded too good to be true. All she had to do was agree to join him, and in return he would bring Dan and Nawaki back from the dead. From anyone else, she wouldn't even consider their proposal feasible, but as it was Orochimaru that was offering, she felt that he must've had legitimate means of doing so.

"I'll tell you what, Naruto. Tell Jiraiya to meet me at the bar at the edge of town and I'll discuss it with him." Tsunade offered, satisfying Naruto for the time being.

Agreeing with her proposal, Naruto decided to head back to his hotel room to await his teammates and Jiraiya.

* * *

 _ **Outside Tanzaku Town:**_

Neji panted in exhaustion, his rigorous Taijutsu training having worn him out in the few hours since he had parted from Naruto. Despite that, he felt that he had to continue if he wanted to get stronger.

Over the month of training before the Chunin Exam Finals, Neji and Naruto had sparred together extensively. Neji's own Taijutsu had improved leaps and bounds as a result. Hinata had performed well against him, flourishing in her own right during the month in between rounds.

Because of that, Neji felt slightly threatened by his main branch cousin. Though he was trying to let go of the resentment he felt towards her, he couldn't help the envy that reared its head when he thought about her progress.

If not for Neji's own progress during that month of training, he was fairly certain that Hinata could've defeated him. While he had been improving significantly, compared to Hinata's growth rate it still felt sluggish.

He couldn't help the feelings of inferiority building in his chest when he thought of the distinct possibility that the main house heiress may be able to catch up to him in terms of raw ability.

In his eyes, she had everything. She was the heiress to the main family of the Hyuuga clan, she had a father who would train her, friends that would protect her, and status that would ensure she would be successful regardless of her abilities as a shinobi, or her previous lack thereof.

Though Neji had hated how lax she was for the main house heiress, the only reason that he had been able to feel superior was because he was, by far, the better shinobi of the two of them. He stuck to Hyuuga traditions, learned moves that were usually exclusive to the main house simply by watching them, and trained until his fingers bled from overuse.

All that was until their battle in the finals. Neji had never felt so powerless as when Hinata had revealed her new technique, able to match even his strongest techniques blow for blow. Though, ultimately, he had come out as the victor, he had been forced to fight in a way that shamed his abilities to claim that victory.

Neji's inferiority complex had only grown further when he had been harshly reminded by the Hokage that he had only become a Chunin thanks to the man's own benevolence. As it was, he couldn't even find cause to complain with the position, as Hinata herself had failed to be promoted.

He was being lauded as a genius in the clan, but he found that it wasn't making him feel any stronger.

Despite being unwilling to admit it to himself, Neji looked forward to returning to Konoha so that he could have the conversation with Hiashi that the Sandaime had recommended.

Shino, meanwhile, was following a completely different train of thought.

Training for many years in Aburame clan techniques, Shino was in a similar boat to Neji in that he was considered a prodigy amongst his clan. Though none outside of his clan learned of it, as his clanmates felt no need to express such opinions to those outside of their clan, Shino was regarded as being a once-a-generation genius among his clan.

Though he hadn't developed the unique bloodline gift of his cousin, Torune, he had already managed to create more hives for kikai insects than even his father, who had also been considered a prodigy, had at his age.

Shino also possessed a variety of different hives, offering different resistances to elements and attacks, as well as unique strengths that each hive had. Because he was so devoted to his training, he had never made an active effort to socialise with others.

Not to mention, his quiet nature and his insect-based bloodline made many others hesitant to interact with him, making Shino fear that he may be socially awkward.

Though his close family assured him otherwise, Shino couldn't help feeling that he was unable to really speak to many of his comrades, even those from his academy year, and felt that, often, his logical assertions into conversation were simply dismissed or were simply too much for his comrades.

To make things worse, Shino found that those close to him often left him out, unintentionally, from events that they arranged, and frequently forgot about him in conversation.

Combining these things together, Shino felt as though he was invisible to everyone other than those in his clan and that he was too socially awkward to be able to make any friends. Even though Kiba and Hinata had been his teammates since he left the academy, with Hinata especially trying to make him feel included, he felt that calling them 'friends' may be a little overly-expectant of him.

These feelings of anxiety made Shino worried that he would never truly fit in. That was why he was going to try his hardest to become 'friends' with his new teammates, in the hopes that he could form some bonds outside of his family.

Neji, meanwhile, had no real interest in his teammates. Though he would loosely consider Naruto a 'friend' under interrogation, he had no plans to inflate the blond's ego by admitting as much in the coming days. For now, the blond would just have to be content with them being teammates/rivals.

Shino, meanwhile, was an enigma to Neji. While he felt that the Aburame heir sometimes offered valuable insight into conversation, he was wholly too quiet to leave an impression on the stoic Hyuuga.

Naruto, on the other hand, never really thought about it and just considered them both to be his friends. Shino was aware of that fact and was glad that the blond considered him to be a friend but didn't like using the word 'friend' so loosely. Shino hoped that perhaps his teammates would come to understand him in time.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind, for the time being at least, Shino gestured to Neji and suggested heading back to the hotel. Though Neji felt that he could handle more training, he also felt no need to run the risk of leaving Naruto unattended any longer than they had already.

After all, Naruto attracted enough trouble that Neji wouldn't be surprised to get back to the hotel only to find Naruto battling an S-ranked missing-nin.

* * *

 _ **Tanzaku Town, Hotel Room:**_

Naruto was relaxing comfortably on one of the beds in the room, hoping that he would doze off for a nap when he heard a knock at the door.

Even though he was waiting for his teammates and Jiraiya, he had an odd sense of foreboding from the knocking on the door.

Summoning a Kage Bunshin, Naruto moved towards the window while ordering the clone to answer the door.

As the clone reached the door, his visitors grew fed up on waiting and the door was destroyed, sending splinters flying.

On the other side of the now-ruined door stood a tall man with blue skin, hoisting a giant sword covered in scales over his shoulder, signifying that he had been the one to destroy the door.

Next to him was a face that no Konoha shinobi who knew their history would ever fail to recognise.

"So, may I ask why Uchiha Itachi of all people has decided to pay me a visit?" Naruto's clone asked, covering for the original, who had already bailed out of the window.

Naruto was slightly disappointed, realising he'd left his orange hoodie behind, but settled for the fact that he'd rather not fight against Uchiha Itachi.

Looking around, Naruto noticed that he was surrounded in a circle of crows and that everything around him had disappeared.

"Kai!" Naruto yelled, flaring his chakra.

Itachi raised an impressed eyebrow as the blond dispelled his Genjutsu. Though it was by no means his strongest Genjutsu, he was surprised to see a Jinchuriki that wasn't vulnerable to his illusions.

Naruto noticed a shimmer before he found himself back in reality. Belatedly, he noticed that he had been caught in the Genjutsu before even getting to the window.

'Just how good is this guy?' Naruto screamed in his mind, realising that he was unlikely to beat the former Konoha shinobi.

"Naruto-kun, if you would be so kind as to come with us?" Itachi offered politely. Even though Naruto knew that the man was acting so composed to unnerve him, he would be the first to admit that it was working.

"Why don't we just chop his arms and legs off, Itachi? He'll be much easier to carry that way." Itachi's partner stated, a shark-like grin in place. Naruto couldn't help but notice his sharpened teeth.

Deciding to stall for time until Jiraiya returned, Naruto tried to keep the conversation going, knowing that a battle wouldn't go in his favour.

"Teeth like those and a giant sword, are you one of the seven ninja swordsmen?" Naruto asked the blue-skinned man, prompting the man's own grin to widen.

"Hoshigaki Kisame, at your service. Try not to die too quickly." Offered the now-revealed Kisame, channeling chakra.

"What are two S-rank missing-nin doing looking for little old me? I'm just a rookie Chunin after all." Naruto stalled, already having an idea in mind of what they were after. Though he wasn't so fond of the fox in his gut, he knew that the fox was likely the only reason these guys were after him.

Realising that the blond was obviously stalling, Kisame stepped forward, hoisting his giant sword. Naruto could admit that the man was intimidating, but he wasn't planning on going down without a fight.

Launching forward in a burst of speed, Naruto attacked the shark-like man with a chakra enhanced kick while preparing his follow-up attack.

Kisame merely held up his sword, guarding against the kick. Naruto expected the man to be forced back a bit at least a little but was shocked to not only find the man's feet rooted firmly in place, but also that the chakra from his kick had been sapped.

"This is my Samehada. He says he enjoyed the taste of your chakra." Kisame revealed his sword's ability nonchalantly with a predatorial grin.

Shikaku had taught Naruto that knowledge was power, which made him feel a little more confident. However, he had also taught the blond that knowing the root of a problem doesn't always mean you can solve it.

In this case, Naruto found himself feeling ill-equipped for this battle. His ideal weapons in this fight would be Taijutsu, Kenjutsu and Genjutsu. Kisame outclassed him in at least the first two, whereas Itachi more than likely outclassed him in all three fields.

Naruto resolved himself that he would make more of an active effort to learn Fuinjutsu from Jiraiya if he survived this battle, feeling that he needed an edge against his current opponents.

Kisame swung his giant sword at the blond at a surprising speed. Naruto was only barely able to guard with the use of his tanto.

However, Kisame put a little more strength into his attack and Naruto's tanto snapped cleanly, forcing him to jump back.

Naruto glanced to the window, looking for his opportunity to escape, but Itachi anticipated his movements. Bounding toward the window, the blond was shocked when he received a hard punch to the gut by the Uchiha.

If he wanted to stand a chance, the blond knew he would have to rely on the Kyuubi, not that he had much faith in the fox.

Surprise adorned Itachi's features as the blond launched a haymaker, his arm shrouded in the chakra of the Kyuubi.

'Excellent, so he is able to use its power.' Itachi thought to himself, knowing that he was more than capable of handling what the blond could throw at him, even while enhanced by the malevolent chakra of the fox.

Regardless of his avoidance of using the Kyuubi's chakra since Sakura's death, Naruto found himself feeling relieved that he had been able to call upon it without too much trouble. Though he wasn't sure why the Kyuubi would give him chakra so easily, he wasn't in a hurry to question it.

In truth, the bijuu merely wished for the destruction of the Uchiha that his container was fighting. Cursing the Sharingan and all its users, the fox was willing to lend its container some power.

As Naruto tried to follow up with another attack, he was hit by a hard strike from Samehada, simultaneously shaving off a portion of his skin and sapping away the bijuu chakra he had manifested.

Naruto panicked, realising that even his emergency plan hadn't been enough to help him fight back.

Kisame prepared to launch another attack, fully intent on fulfilling his threat of chopping off the blond's limbs when he jumped back, noticing the crazed grin on the blond's features.

"What are you grinning about, blondie? Don't you realise you're losing badly here?" Kisame questioned, slightly wary of the blond's sudden shift in personality.

"I'm grinning because I realised I have an advantage against the two of you." Naruto stated, psychotic grin still in place. Kisame looked confused, while Itachi's eyes widened.

Naruto launched himself forward, drawing a kunai. Kisame merely parried his wild attack before widening his eyes when he noticed the blond's attack.

Letting go of the kunai, Naruto detonated the explosive tag he had wrapped around the handle, forcing Kisame to hold up Samehada to guard. Meanwhile, Naruto continued his assault, ignoring the minor burns on his arms.

"Itachi, why is this kid trying to blow himself up on me?" Kisame questioned, growing annoyed of being forced to dodge numerous point-blank explosives. He couldn't help feeling that this was like sparring with Deidara.

"It appears the boy isn't as dull as we were informed. He realised that we're here to take him alive, meaning we're forced to hold back to avoid kill-shots, while he has no such restriction." Itachi warned, following the blond's movements with his eyes.

Itachi was growing concerned that he would be forced to use his Tsukuyomi to subdue the blond, as his lower level Genjutsu were being dispelled almost as soon as they were applied.

Being a Genjutsu master himself, Itachi was rather impressed with the boy's prodigious skill. Though the blond had yet to cast any Genjutsu, his abilities at breaking them spoke highly of his chakra control, which was rare for a Jinchuriki.

Kisame, however, had no such advantage.

Naruto, pressing his attack, summoned a shadow clone which attempted to cast a Genjutsu over Kisame while the original continued to attack wildly, with very little regard for his own life.

Itachi turned his attention to the clone and the handsigns it was weaving but made the costly mistake of turning his attention away from the original.

Grinning as he noticed his on the fly plan come together, the blond slid past Kisame and grabbed the remnants of the tanto he had brought with him, throwing them at the shark-like man.

Kisame was fully prepared to dodge, but found himself ensnared in a Genjutsu, forcing him to see a vision of himself dying, his legacy forgotten.

He quickly dispelled the Genjutsu but was forced to block the tanto and lost sight of the blond.

Out of sight of both missing-nin, if only for an instant, Naruto was able to complete his plan. Weaving a quick handsign, Naruto was able to perform a substitution with his Kage Bunshin, unbeknownst to his two opponents.

Naruto's Kage Bunshin, now in his place, summoned another Kage Bunshin and both rushed out towards the two missing-nin, neither of which were overly concerned by the other 'clone' near the window.

Both Kage Bunshin struck as one, being quickly dodged and dispatched by the two S-rank shinobi. Itachi's eyes widened marginally in realisation as both were revealed to be clones, but it was too late.

Seeing his window of opportunity, pun intended, Naruto dived out of the window to the ground, making his escape.

Itachi's eye twitched in annoyance while Kisame let out an impressed whistle. Although the blond had stood no chance against the two of them, the fact remained that he had successfully escaped them without assistance.

"Geez, that brat was a lot better than the intel said, eh Itachi?" Kisame questioned his partner, still impressed by the blond's escapade.

"Indeed. Unfortunately, Jiraiya-sama is about to return, so it would be unwise for us to continue to battle here." Itachi warned, preparing to leave.

* * *

Naruto, who had gotten away, had ran into his two teammates who were talking with-

"Hey, Sasuke, that you? Your psychotic older brother was just kicking my ass." Naruto stated jokingly.

Sasuke's eyes widened at the revelation that his older brother was here and demanded directions from the blond, who merely pointed him in the direction of the hotel.

With a grunt, Sasuke rushed off in that direction, intending to confront his brother.

Neji, meanwhile, was rubbing his temples at his prediction of the blond fighting against an S-rank missing-nin coming true.

"How do you always get into trouble, Naruto?" Neji asked. Shino, too, was wondering as to how exactly the blond had come into confrontation with such a legendary shinobi as Uchiha Itachi.

"It's not like I go looking for trouble. In fact, in this case the trouble came looking for me." Naruto elaborated. Both his teammates had surprised expressions, pondering as to why such a renowned traitorous shinobi would be after their teammate.

"Oh yeah, do you think I should've mentioned that another S-rank nin, Hoshigaki Kisame was there?"

Both of his teammates deadpanned at him, though internally they couldn't help feeling impressed at the fact that the blond had been able to escape from not one, but two, S-rank shinobi.

Neji activated his Byakugan, and the team headed back towards the hotel.

Sasuke, meanwhile, had just arrived outside of the hotel. Jiraiya, too, was in the vicinity of the hotel room but had yet to enter the hotel.

Rushing into the hotel, Sasuke quickly came face-to-face with his older brother and Kisame.

"Itachi! Ever since _that day_ I've fostered my anger. My rage. My _hatred!_ All for this day where I can kill you!" Sasuke yelled at his brother.

"Hey Itachi, who's the brat?" Kisame asked, hoping that he would be able to kill this one.

"He's my little brother, let me handle him." Itachi stated more than asked, intending to deal with Sasuke quickly.

'Itachi's kid brother, eh? They do look alike I guess. Still, I thought Itachi killed his entire clan.' Kisame thought to himself, interested to see how this little scenario would play out.

Sasuke, donned in the black outfit he had worn for the Chunin Exam finals, charged lightning chakra to his hand, manifesting his newest jutsu, the Chidori.

'With this, I can finally put my clan to rest. Itachi, today you die!' Sasuke thought to himself, charging towards his older brother, intent on ending his life.

Itachi smirked, easily bringing Sasuke to a stop by grabbing his wrist and holding it in place, causing the jutsu to eventually fizzle out.

"You're still weak, little brother. You don't have enough _hate._ Come back and challenge me when you're worth my time." Itachi taunted cruelly. Sasuke was growing increasingly frustrated at his inability to avenge his clan.

Deciding that there wasn't time to test his younger brother's abilities, knowing that Jiraiya was on his way, Itachi locked eyes with Sasuke, immediately casting Tsukuyomi over him.

"Tsukuyomi? Geez Itachi, you're even merciless to your own little brother." Kisame said with a predatorial expression, his wicked, sharpened teeth showing.

"He isn't worth killing right now. One day, he'll seek me out for real." Itachi stated, no trace of emotion in his voice.

Jiraiya appeared in the hotel at that moment to see Sasuke laying unconscious on the ground and the hotel was trashed.

"Uchiha Itachi, to what do I owe the honour?" Jiraiya questioned, hoping to glean some intel from the missing-nin.

"That's funny, eh Itachi? He sounds just like the nine-tails brat." Kisame stated, chuckling.

Jiraiya's face immediately gained a more serious expression at the potential implications behind that statement.

"What have you done with Naruto?" Jiraiya asked/exclaimed, fully intent on fighting the two to retrieve the blond if it was necessary.

"You'll have to beat that one out of us." Kisame challenged, hoping to test his mettle against a member of the Legendary Sannin.

"That's enough Kisame. This is neither the time nor place for us to battle Jiraiya of the Sannin. I can sense another Jonin level chakra approaching, the odds aren't in our favour." Itachi cautioned his partner, planning to make a swift retreat.

Recognising Itachi's intent, Jiraiya summoned a large toad, entrapping the two S-rank shinobi inside of its stomach, intent on capturing the two for interrogation purposes.

Itachi merely activated his Mangekyou Sharingan, summoning the black flames of Amaterasu and burning through the toad's stomach, enabling the two to make a quick getaway.

Despite feeling relieved that he wouldn't have to fight two high-calibre shinobi who were a part of Akatsuki, Jiraiya couldn't help his annoyance at the fact that they had escaped.

"Fuka Hoin!" Jiraiya declared the name of his technique, sealing the black flames into a scroll, knowing that they couldn't be extinguished by ordinary means.

Dispelling his toad, the sage decided that he would go look for his team.

Only to be interrupted by a mighty cry, or rather a Maito Gai.

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!" Gai's voice yelled, slamming a harsh kick into the sage's side. Gai then dropped into his signature Taijutsu stance, fully intent on defeating Uchiha Itachi, whom he had heard was in the village. It was at that moment that Gai realised who he had just attacked.

"Oh, my apologies Jiraiya-sama! My sensory abilities told me there was a strong chakra here, so I mistakenly assumed it to be the famous rogue ninja, Itachi!" Gai declared, performing his 'nice guy' pose.

Jiraiya, meanwhile, was curled in the foetal position, painful memories of the Genjutsu that Naruto had used on him returning.

Realising his mistake, Jiraiya got to his feet and tried to shrug off what had just happened.

"Here just in time to miss the fight completely. Good going Gai, Kakashi would be proud." Recognising the sarcastic compliment, Gai responded loudly.

"Oh no, my lateness is most unyouthful! To correct this, I will run 100 laps around Konoha on my hands, and if I cannot do that then I will perform 1000 push-ups while carrying all of Konoha's academy students on my back, and if I cannot do that I will-" Jiraiya interrupted Gai's tirade, realising the man was likely to go on for the entire day if left uninterrupted.

"That's quite alright, Gai. Have you seen my team?" Jiraiya enquired, hoping the three were safe, knowing that Hiruzen would have his head if they weren't.

"I'm unsure, Jiraiya-sama. I came here hoping to check if you'd had much luck retrieving Tsunade-sama. My beloved apprentice, Rock Lee, has been heavily injured in battle! More recently, Kakashi has also fallen into a coma after battling Uchiha Itachi, and both Asuma-san and Kurenai-san are injured from battling Hoshigaki Kisame." Gai revealed.

While Jiraiya was shocked that the three Jonin had been dispatched so easily, he was more than aware of the threat that Itachi posed, not to mention that neither Asuma nor Kurenai were quite as strong as Kakashi.

Fortunately for Jiraiya, his concerns for his team were quickly assuaged as Naruto, Neji and Shino all appeared. Though Naruto seemed pretty beat up, there were no life-threatening injuries.

All three were suffering from mild chakra exhaustion. Two of them had spent the entire day training, leaving their chakra levels low, while the other had fought a Sannin and won (by a technicality), and fought two S-rank missing-nin and was defeated near-instantly, forcing him to beat a hasty retreat.

"Gai-sensei, what are you doing here?" Neji enquired, curious as to the reason his now-former sensei was present.

"Neji-kun, you're looking youthful as ever! I hope you are still training hard." Gai pushed, dodging the question intentionally.

Fortunately for him, Neji fell straight for the bait, tuning out anything the man had said after the word 'youthful.'

"Did you guys beat Itachi? That's insane." Naruto asked, wondering why the gap between regular shinobi and S-rank seemed to be so large.

"Unfortunately not, Naruto-kun. But fear not, I, Maito Gai, will be sure to defeat him next time!" Gai exclaimed, hoping to reassure the blond.

"Ah, I see." Naruto said, cleaning out his ear with a finger as he too ignored the man's yelling.

"Curse you, Kakashi! You have taught your student your hip, cool ways!" Gai exclaimed in faux-anguish. While Naruto disagreed, feeling that Kakashi hadn't really taught him anything other than tree-climbing, he decided that stating such was more trouble than it was worth.

Perhaps Shikaku's lessons had been sinking in, after all.

"Hey, Gai. Sorry to cut our little meeting short, but do you think you could take Sasuke back to the village with you?" Jiraiya asked, hoping to simultaneously offload the problem of taking care of the unconscious Genin and get rid of the source of his PTSD at the same time.

Naruto was trying to restrain a snicker at seeing the unconscious Sasuke on the ground. After the favouritism the Uchiha had received during the Chunin Exams, Naruto felt that what had happened was just karma catching up to him.

Coming up with a great idea, Naruto attracted his rival's attention.

"What is it, Naruto?" Neji asked, having a foreboding feeling he was about to be dragged into something against his will.

"Do you remember how Hokage-jiji said that the winner of the Chunin Exam would fight Sasuke in an exhibition match?" Naruto asked the Hyuuga, a brilliant plan coming together in his mind.

"Yes, I remember how Hokage- _sama_ said that the winner of the Chunin Exam would fight Sasuke in an exhibition match." Neji mocked, making a subtle dig at the blond's lack of respect towards their Hokage.

"Does that mean that we're both going to team up against Sasuke?" Naruto asked rhetorically, smirking all the while. Thinking it over for a moment, Neji came to a similar realisation and found himself feeling eager for an opportunity to put the upstart Uchiha in his proper place.

While the two were quietly plotting as to how they would thoroughly humiliate Sasuke in front of a crowd, Shino had a small raincloud hanging overhead, feeling unincluded.

Gai, accepting the task of taking the Genin back to Konoha, lifted Sasuke and threw the raven-haired Uchiha over his shoulder.

Finally, with a light farewell to all those present, Gai vanished in a swirl of leaves with Sasuke in tow.

Glad to be free of the spandex-loving Jonin, Jiraiya addressed his team.

"Well, unfortunately, my research didn't lead to any hints on Tsunade's whereabouts, but tomorrow for sure." Jiraiya giggled perversely. Naruto, Neji and Shino felt their respect for the man fall significantly.

Albeit, Naruto barely had any respect left for the man at this point.

"Oh right, the old lady? She asked me to tell you to meet her on the bar at the edge of town." Naruto offered, both of his teammates raising a brow at him.

"When did you meet Tsuande, brat? I'd have thought you'd have come back in a body-bag for calling her an old hag if you had." Jiraiya laughed to himself, amused at the mental image of the two blondes bickering.

"Nah, she was a much more respectable Sannin than you, Ero-Sennin. I can see why they'd choose her to be Hokage over you." Naruto stated with a smirk.

Jiraiya had a large tic mark present on his forehead from that comment.

"Actually, brat, I'll have you know that they did ask me to be Hokage, but I turned it down." Jiraiya bragged, petulantly feeling the need to win an argument with the pre-teen blond.

"Yeah, right. If that was true, the old man really would need a replacement. I don't think a senile Hokage would be good for the village." Naruto's smirk grew. Neji was trying to hold back a smirk, and Shino felt mild amusement at the blond's teasing.

Jiraiya's face flushed in embarrassment, realising that he had, once again, lost to the blond in the art of banter.

Deciding to move on, Jiraiya accepted Naruto's information at face-value, not seeing a reason for the boy to lie to him at this point.

Ushering 'his' team back to their hotel room, Jiraiya headed to the previously-mentioned bar, in hopes of finding his teammate to convince her to become Hokage.

Heading back to the hotel room without protesting, the three found themselves wishing they'd been sent on the mission without Jiraiya, feeling that, if it weren't for the man's previous experience of dealing with Tsunade, the man was practically a liability.

Once they reached the hotel room, Neji and Shino were shocked to see a dark-haired girl stood outside of their room, looking like she was waiting for someone.

"Ah, Shizune-san, I knew you were attracted to me, and I guessed that you hadn't had a man for a long time, if ever, but I thought you'd at least be a little subtler." Naruto teased.

Shizune's face flushed, realising the implications of the blond's words.

"Naruto-san, are you implying that you and this kunoichi are in a sexual relationship?" Shino asked innocently, unaware of the blond's teasing.

Shizune, if possible, blushed even brighter.

"N-no! T-that's not-" Shizune tried to defend herself, with no traces of her usual composure.

"Hey Shino, how did you know Shizu-chan was a kunoichi?" Naruto asked his teammate, intentionally adding a pet-name whilst ignoring her plight to rile the woman up further.

"My kikai insects are able to detect the presence of chakra within an individual, Naruto-san. As her chakra levels were far higher than the average civilian, combined with the grace in the way she moves, it was easy to ratify the assumption that she is a kunoichi." Naruto let out an impressed whistle but felt the need to comment on his teammate's wording.

"Most of what I took from that was just that you like the way she moves, Shino. I didn't know you had it in you, buddy! Not that I blame you, I've walked behind her, and that is a fine piece of ass." Naruto stated loudly, teasing both Shizune and Shino simultaneously.

Neji merely put his face in his palm. Despite having a sensei as eccentric as Gai, Neji felt concerned that he was starting to become used to the blond's mischievous nature.

Shino retreated into his collar, hoping to make himself invisible, feeling that he had somehow made the situation worse with his input.

Shizune, fed up of the conversation going around in circles, grabbed the blond by the scruff of his shirt and shook him rapidly. Before long, Naruto began to feel dizzy and his eyes became glassy.

'She's scary. Note to self: don't tease Shizune too much.' Naruto thought to himself, feeling that he had just incurred a woman's wrath.

"I'm here to warn you idiots that Tsunade might be going to join Orochimaru, and that we need to stop her!" Shizune all-but yelled, snapping the three back to reality.

Neji and Shino felt somewhat offended at being called idiots, especially as Naruto was the main reason that she was peeved at them.

"Well, what are we waiting here for then? Let's go get Jiraiya!" Naruto suggested, charging off in a direction.

"Naruto-san, Jiraiya-sensei went the other way." Shino called to the blond. Naruto stopped in his tracks, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly before returning to the group.

"Lead on, Shizune!" Naruto prompted, causing the other three to deadpan at him.

Exasperated at the blond's antics, Shizune began to lead the three of them towards the bar, hoping that they would get there before it was too late.

As they departed, Naruto pulled Shino to one side for a moment.

"Hey, Shino?" Naruto asked, sounding slightly hesitant.

"What is it, Naruto-san?" Shino asked, still feeling slightly put-out after his short interaction with Shizune, feeling that he had somehow left a bad first impression on the woman.

"I was just teasing you back there, alright? Sure, you probably don't care, but I just don't want you to think I hate you or something. We're teammates now, and that means we're friends!" Naruto declared, before following behind Shizune and Neji.

Shino quickly followed behind them, a small smile hidden by his collar.

* * *

 **Author's Note: And that's Chapter 9!**

 **Thanks for reading this chapter, I hope you liked it and that you'll leave a review. I'll get to replying to all your reviews soon, but I've read them all and taken your feedback on board.**

 **Chapter 10 will be out soon! Ja Ne!**


	10. Chapter 10

Ripples and Consequences

Chapter Ten: Momo's Bizarre Adventure

* * *

 _ **Nami No Kuni, Two Months Earlier:**_

Thanks to the efforts of Team 7, Nami had been liberated from the tyrant Gato.

Unfortunately for Team 7, they also lost one of their members that day. In her honour, the bridge builder, Tazuna, had dubbed their new bridge 'The Great Sakura Bridge.'

Personally, Momochi Zabuza didn't really see it. Having fought against Team 7 alongside Haku, Zabuza found himself feeling wholly unimpressed.

'Only that blond boy had any real ability out of the Genin, he even beat my Haku.' Zabuza thought to himself, still sore at their defeat.

In Zabuza's own opinion, if anything, all the pink-haired Genin had done was save his own and Haku's life. While he was slightly grateful for that, he was also aware that their survival was an unintended result of her death.

Haku had loyally moved to take a strike that was meant to kill Zabuza, when Kakashi had paused at the sound of Sakura's dying scream. Between Kakashi's hesitation, and the untimely treachery of Zabuza's employer, both himself and Haku had survived the battle.

Zabuza and Haku had both decided to leave and return to Mizu no Kuni, feeling that their purpose in Nami had been fulfilled.

Though Zabuza didn't think they had the assets to defeat the Yondaime Mizukage yet, he was determined to gather resources and soldiers to assemble under his banner.

Leaving the scene of their battle, none of the shinobi were aware of the young girl who had witnessed the events.

* * *

 _ **Mizu No Kuni, Present, Unknown Location:**_

It had been two months since the events of Nami No Kuni. Haku and Zabuza were settling well into their new roles. After returning to Kirigakure, they had been shocked to discover that there was already a rebellion that was largely formed, under the banner of Terumi Mei.

Haku found that he had come to like the leader of the rebellion, though his loyalties still laid with Zabuza, and he only worked for Mei indirectly.

Zabuza had been initially reluctant to join the rebellion of another, but after witnessing Mei's strength with her Kekkei Genkai, plus her intent of reforming the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, the bandaged man decided that he would be wise to take part in her coup.

Mei's hopes laid in the reformation of many of the stronger bloodline clans. Using the bloodline wielders in her rebel army, she intended to bring down the Yondaime Mizukage, Yagura.

However, there was a reason that nobody had been able to kill Yagura thus far. Contained in his body was the power of the Sanbi, meaning that no ordinary shinobi could even face the tyrant in a battle.

Zabuza's own coup two years prior hadn't even managed to reach the Mizukage, leading Zabuza to leave the country in disgrace. While Zabuza was one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, they had yet to find a member who could surpass Hoshigaki Kisame.

Fortunately, they would have the luck of avoiding a battle with the monstrous man this time around as Kisame having defected from Kiri to join Akatsuki.

Haku wasn't as confident about their success as her master was, a result of years of oppression under the Mizukage's tyrannical regime.

After watching his father turn on his mother and murder her, Haku had lost faith in the hope for a better Kiri, at least until he met Zabuza.

Mei, too, planned on leading Kiri to a better future. A future where Kekkei Genkai wielders wouldn't be massacred simply for having abilities that they had never chosen to have.

Despite herself, Mei was suspicious of Yagura's entire regime. While she hadn't known the man before he had become the Mizukage, she had heard that he used to be a kind young man, loved by civilians and shinobi alike.

While it was entirely possible that the man had merely been pretending to be kind so that he could gain the position of Mizukage, the drastic change seemed highly unusual to Mei.

Zabuza and Haku were enjoying a meal in silence, awaiting their next mission from Mei, when a messenger shinobi appeared.

"Momochihada-san, Mei-sama wants to see you." Reported the messenger.

"It's Momochi, not Momochicabana or whatever you just called me, runt." Zabuza responded, annoyed at the mispronunciation.

"Understood. Should I simply call you Momo-san?" Asked the messenger, unsure of how he was supposed to address the former Kiri Jonin.

"No. _God no!_ " Momo said, quickly trying to get rid of that horrible nickname before it stuck.

Little did he know that the author had already decided it would stick.

"Understood, Momochibabua-san." Said the messenger, much to the bandaged swordsmen's annoyance.

Haku tried and failed to contain a soft laugh at his master's predicament.

Zabuza's face flushed red in anger, growing increasingly annoyed with the messenger's seeming inability to pronounce his name correctly.

"Just call me Zabuza." He asserted gruffly, growing fed up of the conversation going around in circles.

"Understood, Zabuza-san. If I may?" Zabuza nodded, dismissing the messenger. Wondering what Mei could want, the man decided he would acquiesce to the rebellion leader's summons.

Once Zabuza reached Mei's temporary office, he knocked on the makeshift door. Due to the nature of the rebellion, they were forced to hide their bases all over the place. This particular base had been formed as an underground bunker on an island not far from Nami No Kuni.

"Come in, Momo-san." Mei called out. Zabuza's annoyance grew as he realised the messenger must have reported back to her after delivering the message.

* * *

 _ **Otogakure Base, Kiri:**_

Hidden in a base at Kiri's island shoreline were several of Orochimaru's lackeys. Chief among them was Guren, a user of the Shoton release Kekkei Genkai.

Guren's loyalty to Orochimaru was second to none, and she was all too eager to fulfil the snake Sannin's orders.

Orochimaru had ordered her and several others to act as spies within Kirigakure in the hopes of implanting spies within both the Mizukage's army and the rebel forces.

Befitting of a snake, Orochimaru's plan was to ensure that he had a 'trusted' spy among the winning forces, regardless of which side won the battle. For that purpose, he had sent Uzumaki Karin out on a retrieval mission, hoping to attract a certain individual to his side.

So far, his plan had been successful. His spies among the Mizukage's ranks had been successful, and the training of the spy whom he planned to plant among the rebels had been coming along swimmingly.

Despite this, Orochimaru wasn't present in this base. He had left to make a trip to Tanzaku town, hoping to recruit Tsunade of the Sannin.

Guren, however, didn't approve of his recruitment plan. Like many kunoichi, as a child she had always looked up to the Legendary Sannin, Tsunade, until she had come to learn more of her idol.

Tsunade's drinking and gambling habits, combined with her now-known hemophobia, a crippling trait for a medic shinobi, had jaded Guren's opinion of the woman. Having once come to blows with Jiraiya of the Sannin before being forced to retreat, Guren could say with confidence that she felt Orochimaru was the only one of the three that was worthy of their title.

Truly, the years of peace had drastically weakened Konoha. With one of its Sannin perpetually absent, and the other constantly out of the village with no sign of training a successor to take over as spymaster, Konoha's strength was sure to only fall further in the coming years unless something changed.

With the untimely demise of the Uchiha clan, the village had only been weakened further. In Guren's own opinion, the only reason that Konoha was still standing was because the other villages lacked the backbone to capitalise on their weakness, all of them afraid to attack in fear of disturbing the geo-political climate.

Out of the big five shinobi villages, only Kumogakure had been continuing in its growth. In recent years, Kumo had made their academy standards stricter, gained several of the artefacts of the Rikudo Sennin, and strengthened their military forces significantly while shoring their own defences.

Guren couldn't help thinking that if there was another shinobi war, Kumogakure was sure to come out on top as things stood.

That was a resolution that she wasn't happy with. To her, Orochimaru was the only man fit to hold the majority power of the world, and she would accept no other.

Konoha was still recovering from both the Kyuubi attack and the Uchiha Massacre, leaving them weak. Still, they had been cunning enough to overcome her master's plan, infuriating her greatly.

However, she may have hated Sunagakure even more. Despite agreeing to help Orochimaru with his invasion plans, upon the defeat of their Jinchuriki the Suna shinobi had gladly reneged that promise in the hopes of coming out unscathed.

Between their loss of missions over the years, the recent loss of their Kazekage, and the fact that they were being forced to beg for Konoha's mercy, it was easy for many to see that Suna was ripe for the taking.

Despite this, Orochimaru had ordered them not to move on the desert village. As much as those orders confused her, Guren feeling that they were more than capable of taking the village as a foothold for her master, the Shoton user's loyalty and determination to fulfil her master's orders won out.

Still, she wished that this phase of the plan would be completed quicker, feeling antsy at the lack of orders she had received as of late.

Since the aftermath of Konoha's Chunin Exams, Orochimaru had seemed more driven, perhaps angered by his invasion plans collapsing before the invasion itself began.

In truth, that was what had led to the Mizu no Kuni operation that was being enacted. That, and one other factor. Yukimaru, a young man that had been recruited as a part of Otogakure by Guren herself, possessed the unique ability to partially control the Sanbi.

While it was unusual enough in itself that he was able to control one of the bijuu, the part that really added some intrigue to the events in Mizu no Kuni was the fact that he was able to summon the beast, which should've been tightly sealed within the Yondaime Mizukage.

Something about the entire scenario smelled rotten to Guren. Regardless, Orochimaru hadn't seemed concerned by the revelation, merely citing it as intriguing. Perhaps the man had already possessed some insight on the internal affairs of the country.

What Orochimaru had valued greatly, however, was the abilities of the young Yukimaru. Summoning a tailed beast was no ordinary feat, after all.

Behind Yukimaru's ability laid a secret that had been revealed to none of the other Akatsuki members, including its leader.

Twenty years prior, Nohara Rin had died while containing the Sanbi, as per Uchiha Madara's plan. However, that wasn't the entire circumstance that had occurred. From there, he had managed to take control of Yagura, who had, despite being the next Sanbi Jinchuriki, managed to reach the rank of Mizukage.

From there, he had initiated the bloodline purges. Deciding to weaken Kirigakure significantly, Madara, using Yagura as his medium, had commenced with the destruction of both minor and major clans alike within Kirigakure. Using this channel, he was also able to recruit Hoshigaki Kisame for his purposes.

Out of all the Akatsuki, Kisame was likely the most informed of the events that were about to unfold in Kiri, having witnessed the foundations for those events. However, even he would be unable to predict how Yukimaru played into this plan.

In truth, Yagura had several bastard-children, whom even he was unaware of. Primarily because Yagura himself was still under the Genjutsu, and thus unaware that his wild nature before becoming Mizukage had led to several women conceiving his children. On top of that, none of the mothers of his children were willing to reveal their connections, knowing that their children would be unjustly persecuted for the brutality of their father's regime.

Yukimaru was one of these children. Seemingly possessing an unnatural affinity with the bijuu, Orochimaru prized Yukimaru's abilities greatly. Though, even he was unaware that the boy's resonance with the bijuu was a result of the Sanbi's chakra recognising his own, being similar in nature to that of his father.

With Yagura still alive and in possession of the Sanbi, Orochimaru was unable to test his theory that young Yukimaru would be able to summon the bijuu, however, he was certain that the events of the coming days would give him the opportunity to do so.

Still, Guren had found herself developing a mother/son bond with the boy. Yukimaru's mother had saved Guren from a fatal injury by taking care of her in her own home. Unfortunately, Guren's loyalty to Orochimaru won out over the debt she felt she owed, thus she followed her orders to kill Yukimaru's mother.

Perhaps as a form of atonement, Guren had since taken on the role of being a mother to the young man. Yukimaru was a very soft-spoken teen, and he was also very sensitive emotionally. As a result, he had quickly grown attached to Guren, seeing her as being much like his own mother. Despite serving Orochimaru, Yukimaru's only loyalties laid with Guren.

Guren found herself feeling glad that Orochimaru saw the value of Yukimaru's abilities. She deeply dreaded the day that she may be ordered to kill her pseudo-son.

Pushing such bleak thoughts to the side, Guren finished preparing the supplies for Orochimaru's 'loyal' spy. Though she wasn't fond of Orochimaru's newest underling, she would remain profession and follow her orders.

By nightfall, the spy would be planted within Mei's forces.

* * *

 _ **Mizu no Kuni, Rebel Outpost:**_

Following his meeting with Mei, Zabuza had taken Haku and departed for an outpost deep in the heart of water country where there was an arrangement for the newest potential recruits for the rebel forces would gather.

Personally, Zabuza thought it was a foolish idea to have such a blatant gathering, feeling it was an easy opportunity to be infiltrated. Mei merely assured Zabuza that once Yagura was taken care of, they would be able to perform thorough sweeps of their forces, but that, for the time being, they would take any help they could get that was unaffiliated with Yagura.

Still, Zabuza reluctantly agreed to follow Mei's orders, if only to potentially weed out any of the spies himself.

Haku was remaining silent, still trying to restrain his laughter from their journey to the outpost.

Along the way, they had been attacked by some of the Yondaime Mizukage's forces, leading them into a brief skirmish. Haku's only warning was Zabuza's muttered question.

"Could this be the work of an enemy stand?" Zabuza muttered lowly, referencing a book that he vaguely recalled reading many years prior. He thought it might've been called Momo's Bizarre Adventure.

Haku had begun to attack the enemy forces, ending the battle quickly, but had accidentally frozen Zabuza in solid ice. From there on, Zabuza spent the entire journey acting tough, trying to ignore the coldness of his blood. However, Haku had seen that the man was noticeably shivering and spent the entire journey in a cycle of trying and failing to hold back laughter while avoiding Zabuza's wrath.

Zabuza noticed the 'recruits' had begun to gather when he noticed a familiar face amongst the crowd.

"Well, well. I didn't expect to see you here. How exactly did you make it here?" Zabuza questioned the young girl who had concealed most of her features.

"No thanks to you, I assure you. One of the Kaguya clan saved my life and trained me for a short time. Sadly, last week he was cut down by one of the Mizukage's men. I guess I'm here for revenge." Elaborated the kunoichi, delivering the story that Orochimaru had supplied her with.

Though Zabuza found the girl's story to be slightly wanting, with no proof there was no way he could question her joining, for the time being at least.

"Well, you may as well remove that pointless hood. With features like yours, it's not really concealing anything." Zabuza asserted, trying to test the girl's loyalty straight off the bat.

Conceding the point, the kunoichi pulled down her hood, revealing her features to Zabuza and Haku, the latter of which was shocked to see a familiar figure.

Tying back her long hair, the girl pushed her noticeably pink bangs out of her face.

"Haruno Sakura, I don't know how you survived, but welcome to the rebellion."

* * *

 **Author's Note: Thanks for reading Chapter 10!**

 **Yes, I blatantly referenced Jojo's using Momo (Momochi Zabuza).**

 **This is a lot shorter than my usual chapters, mostly as a result of being released only a day after the previous chapter, but I felt it was important to make this advancement by making a chapter about the other characters, rather than trying to cram all the events into a single chapter with the Sannin battle.**

 **Chapter 11 will be out on Thursday!**

 **Thanks for all your reviews and support thus far, this story has quickly become far more popular than I had even dared hope.**

 **Sorry to build the tension, putting this chapter right before the three Sannin battle, but this chapter was necessary to advance the story. With the survival of Zabuza, Haku and, most importantly, Sakura, most of the pieces for the Kiri rebellion are assembled. If you want to see these events all come to a head, you'll have to keep reading!**

 **Feel free to review! Ja Ne!**


	11. Chapter 11

Ripples and Consequences

Chapter Eleven: To Be Hokage Pt 2

* * *

 _ **Neji and Shino vs Kabuto:**_

Neji had found Jiraiya and Tsunade first and had alerted his teammates. Shino had promptly arrived on scene, but Naruto had been waylaid by a snake summon.

Rushing toward his opponent, Neji prepared to use his Gentle Fist, only to find himself swiftly disabled by Kabuto.

Moving to cover his fallen teammate, Shino launched kikai insects at their opponent. Kabuto, throwing a smoke bomb, quickly disappeared from Shino's sight.

Neji tried to warn Shino of Kabuto's location but was too late as the silver-haired traitor attacked from a hole in the ground, using chakra scalpels to cut the tendons in Shino's legs.

"Don't tell me that's all you have?" Kabuto gleefully taunted, weakening Neji and Shino's resolve.

Both unable to move, the two Chunin shared a look and formulated a plan.

Standing up at the same time, the two both tried to attack Kabuto in the same way as before, albeit much slower thanks to their injuries.

Kabuto only smirked, severing even more tendons in both of their legs, leaving Shino completely disabled.

Neji, however, had used his Byakugan to predict which of his tendons his opponent would cut and had adjusted his footing accordingly, feigning receiving the injuries.

Shino subtly planted a few kikai insects onto Kabuto during the exchange, which would slowly drain the man's chakra.

Putting their faith in their teammate, both Neji and Shino feigned loss of consciousness.

Fortunately, Naruto arrived on the scene, causing Orochimaru to seethe as he realised the blond had taken out one of his stronger snake-summons.

* * *

 _ **Naruto vs Kabuto:**_

Naruto darted towards Kabuto, intending to end the fight in a single manoeuvre. Kabuto, however, had been ordered to assess the blond's abilities, and had no intent of allowing the battle to end quickly.

Despite this, Kabuto was displeased with the orders he had been given. After the second round of the Chunin Exams, Kabuto had warned his master about the threat that the blond could potentially pose. Regardless, Orochimaru had continued with his plan, leading Kabuto's expectations to come to pass. Namely, the blond causing an anomaly in his otherwise flawless plan.

Kabuto jumped to the left, intending to sideswipe the blond with a chakra scalpel. Naruto grinned smugly as the silver-haired 'Genin' fell for his plan.

"Looks like you need a hand there." Naruto cockily stated, waving with his prize.

Kabuto stared in shock at the stump that made up the remains of his arm. Naruto threw the arm on the ground before wiping the blood clean from his tanto.

Shizune watched on in shock, surprised by the blond's speed and brutality.

Summoning a Kage Bunshin, Naruto launched himself at Kabuto once more. Despite lacking one of his arms, Kabuto quickly raised a defence this time and kicked the original Naruto backwards.

It was much to Naruto's disgust that he witnessed the next series of events. Kabuto dived away from the Kage Bunshin, grabbing his severed arm as he did so. Then, holding the arm in place, he reattached it with medical chakra.

"Even with that, there's no way you'll fight at your full potential with a reattached arm." Naruto confidently stated, feeling there was no way he could lose.

"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" Kabuto smirked, moving his arm around as though it had never been detached in the first place.

Feeling that his opponent was feigning confidence, Naruto lunged at Kabuto.

Anticipating the blond's trajectory, Kabuto launched a volley of shuriken, forcing Naruto to avoid.

Not letting up on his attack, Kabuto rushed in, catching the blond off guard.

Naruto tried to defend himself from Kabuto's close-range attacks but soon found several of his tendons sliced by chakra scalpels.

Cursing his own arrogance, the blond tried to gain some distance to re-evaluate his strategy, only to fall to a knee because of the damage to his tendons.

It was then that Naruto paid closer attention to his 'unconscious' teammates, realising that both had been waiting on him to start a strategy.

Feeling as though he should slap himself for missing the signs, Naruto decided to have faith in his teammates and follow their plans.

Even though he detested the thought, Naruto once more channelled the Kyuubi's chakra, hoping to repair the damage in his legs.

Fortunately for him, the fox was being surprisingly cooperative for once. Though he was slightly concerned by the Kyuubi's willingness to lend him chakra, he pushed it to the back of his mind for the time being.

Unbeknownst to him, the Kyuubi was patiently waiting, until the day would come where Naruto would be reliant on its chakra and would lose control once again.

Naruto's nightmares had been similar. He kept seeing it, killing Anko or Shikamaru the same way he had killed Sakura.

It was that fear that made him hate having to rely on the fox. However, he knew that he would rather use its power than watch his friends die.

His wounds hissed with steam as the Kyuubi's virulent chakra healed them in an instant. Naruto stood once more, planning to fight Kabuto alongside his team this time.

Kabuto lunged for the blond immediately, his orders still ringing clear in his mind. Naruto baited his opponent, dodging to the side by a hair's breadth.

As the blond had anticipated, Kabuto turned and followed him. Although he knew that the blond was baiting him, Kabuto's aim was to test the blond's abilities, so he was forced to play his game.

Dodging Naruto's poorly-aimed kick, Kabuto jumped to the left, unknowingly falling directly into the blond's trap.

Reeling in shock, Kabuto coughed blood as his tenketsu were sealed by Neji who was now stood behind him. Shino, seeing his opportunity, released a swarm of kikai insects which quickly covered Kabuto.

Between the two of them, Kabuto's chakra was completely absorbed.

Cursing, Kabuto attempted to retreat, realising that, without any chakra, his automatic regeneration would no longer function.

"Let's try this again!" Naruto loudly exclaimed with resolve, his tanto swinging.

Kabuto screamed and fell to a knee as, once more, his arm was lopped off.

"Your fate is to die here." Neji stated smugly, feeling that the battle was won.

"Indeed, your best option here is to surrender. Why? Because your probability of victory here is zero." Shino confidently stated.

However, the three Chunin had made one of the most dangerous mistakes that can ever be made on a battlefield. They had pushed their enemy too far into a corner.

Naruto lunged at Kabuto, intent on knocking him unconscious so they could take him alive for questioning.

With his Byakugan active, Neji witnessed the aftermath all too clearly.

* * *

 _ **Meanwhile;**_

 _ **Jiraiya and Tsunade vs Orochimaru:**_

Orochimaru summoned the boss summon of the hebi clan, Manda. Both Jiraiya and Tsunade quickly ran through hand-signs before summoning each of their own respective boss summons, Gamabunta and Katsuyu.

Unfortunately for Jiraiya, the mixture that Tsunade had spiked his drink with had spread its effects across his body, meaning he was unable to access most of his chakra reserves and that each of his jutsu were using more chakra than they would ordinarily.

Tsunade wasn't faring much better. Despite her determination to defeat her traitorous teammate, she was aware that Naruto's assessment of her skills hadn't been entirely inaccurate.

While she was more than a match for most Jonin, Tsunade knew that she couldn't perform at the level she once had, her lax in training having assured that for her.

Jiraiya and Gamabunta performed a collaboration jutsu, launching a series of fireballs at the giant snake. Katsuyu similarly launched acid towards Manda.

Manda dodged the attack before Orochimaru witnessed the conclusion of Naruto's battle with Kabuto.

Orochimaru froze at the turn of events that was occurring. Tsunade and Jiraiya turned towards the battle as one, sensing the sudden disappearance of a chakra signature in the Chunin's battle.

Tsunade's hemophobia kicked in immediately, her PTSD flashing back to the visages of when she had lost her lover and her younger brother.

Jiraiya stared in horror, reminded of his absence during the Kyuubi attack.

Naruto collapsed to the floor, blood oozing heavily from his slashed throat.

* * *

 _ **Inside the Seal:**_

Naruto stood in front of the seal, his blond hair casting a shadow over his eyes. Meanwhile, behind the bars of the seal, the Kyuubi had a large, menacing grin in place.

" **So, my container finally pays me a visit. Though, I didn't think you would be this arrogant."** Kyuubi boomed, slamming its claws down in front of the blond.

Naruto's composure didn't falter, his mind elsewhere.

"Fox, what am I doing here?" Naruto asked, annoyed at the Kyuubi for interrupting his battle.

" **Arrogant human. Clearly you have forgotten the injury you sustained."** Kyuubi boomed, irritated at its host.

"What injury? We've got that traitor on the ropes." Naruto arrogantly stated, feeling that the fox was trying to distract him to take control of his body.

" **Silence ningen!"** Bellowed the Kyuubi, fed up of its petulant host.

Naruto was silent in response, waiting impatiently for an explanation.

" **At this very moment, my chakra is the only thing keeping you alive. That ningen you claim you 'have on the ropes' just slit your throat."** Revealed the fox, confusing the blond.

"Stop trying to trick me!" Naruto exclaimed, convinced in his belief that the Kyuubi was trying to pull one over on him.

" **What do I have to gain by lying to you?"** Asked the fox, trying to convince the blond to think rationally about the situation.

In truth, Naruto had become complacent with his skills and had become arrogant from his victories in the Chunin Exams. He found himself believing he was unbeatable by anyone other than an S-Class shinobi; it was this very same belief that had led to the current situation.

"I don't know, but I know that you're trying to trick me somehow." Naruto angrily declared, refusing to accept help from the fox.

" **Regardless of where I stand to benefit, it's the truth that you'll die without my chakra."**

Locking eyes with the Kyuubi, Naruto made a declaration.

"Well then, if you want to stay in my body, you'd better start paying rent."

Sharp teeth were revealed from the fox's menacing grin.

* * *

 _ **Naruto vs Kabuto**_

Naruto's body hit the floor, causing shock among the Sannin and Chunin who had witnessed the battle, unable to believe that the whiskered blond had fallen so easily.

That was, until he stood back up.

"I see. So that's how it is, is it?" Naruto said, his head down as he held a hand to the wound on his throat.

"How can you be alive? I killed you!" Kabuto yelled, unwilling to believe that the blond who had threatened his master's plans could still be standing.

Orochimaru really should have warned Kabuto about the Kyuubi.

Removing his hand from his throat, Naruto gave his opponent an intimidating grin, further aided by his now darkened whisker marks.

"Shimatta, the fox is breaking loose." Jiraiya muttered to himself, hoping he could deal with his former teammate quickly before his student went out of control.

Naruto's left eye was an icy blue, though it had a vulpine-like slit from the influence of the Kyuubi. His right eye, however, was a crimson red, glowing with the hatred bubbling in the chakra shroud around him.

It was to everyone's bewilderment that they noticed the wound to the blond's throat had already healed. Neji's Byakugan allowed him to fully witness the power of the Kyuubi that Naruto wielded, and he was in shock that the blond had even deeper reserves of power.

Flashing forward in a burst of speed, Naruto slashed at Kabuto with his tanto. Taking the battle seriously for the first time, Kabuto blocked with a kunai.

Both blades broke from the force, Kyuubi's chakra overcoming Naruto's tanto.

Grunting in annoyance, Naruto swung at Kabuto, his fingernails-turned-claws enhanced by demonic chakra.

Kabuto ducked below the attack, trying to forcibly unseal some of his chakra points so that he would have a fighting chance against the blond. As a medic nin, Kabuto had a better idea of the kind of lasting damage that such an attempt could cause, but if he didn't survive in the immediate future, there'd be no long term to worry about.

Naruto tried to utilise the technique that Jiraiya had been teaching him, unknowing of the exact means of the technique.

"No, Naruto, don't!" Jiraiya yelled in vain, his voice failing to reach the Kyuubi-fied blond.

"Wait, you taught him the Rasengan?" Tsunade asked her former teammate, surprised at the sight of the familiar technique.

All three Sannin were watching the battle in awe. Despite Naruto's ferocity and wild attacks, it was clear for all to see that the blond was still the one in control.

"I've been teaching him, yes! But the technique isn't completed yet, who knows what'll happen!" Jiraiya yelled in panic.

Naruto began shaping the chakra, intent on ending the battle with the Rasengan, despite not knowing exactly what it was.

Though he wasn't fully sure on how to stabilise the technique, it oddly felt like the Kyuubi's chakra was guiding him, giving the technique a feeling of familiarity.

Nobody could've foreseen what happened next.

Naruto held the not-quite-stable Rasengan in front of his face, an arm made from the Kyuubi's chakra appearing to continue shaping it.

Jiraiya wasn't certain what was happening as he had never seen Minato do anything like this with his signature technique.

Neji, however, could see what the shape transformation was doing to the technique.

"Shino-san, we need to get out of here." Neji said, his voice sounding far calmer than he felt.

Trusting his teammate, Shino nodded silently and the two left the battlefield in a burst of speed, leaving only the Sannin and Kabuto to witness what followed.

An incomplete Rasengan forming, everyone could only watch in horror as the chakra began to form into a conical shape before firing off like a beam.

"That's barely a Rasengan at all." Jiraiya said aloud, in awe of the raw power of the technique being formed by his student, the Kyuubi's malevolent chakra overpowering the technique and forming something else. It couldn't quite be called a Bijuudama, but it couldn't really be called a Rasengan either.

Whatever it was, Jiraiya knew that he had to make sure Naruto could learn to use it in future. That kind of attack couldn't be allowed to just be a one-off fluke.

Firing the technique towards Kabuto, the silver-haired traitor was left fleeing in panic, barely able to keep away from the beam that was destroying everything in its path.

"Triple Rashoumon!" Orochimaru called, summon the three gates of Rashoumon in the space between himself and the beam, Kabuto returning to his position beside his master to avoid the technique.

However, the beam quickly began to overpower the first gate and started pushing into the second.

Orochimaru's eyes widened in shock at the power of the technique the blond was using.

'Such power. I must have him. This boy is too powerful for me to leave in the hands of that buffoon, Jiraiya.'

Finally, the beam gave out shortly after breaking the second gate. Regardless, Orochimaru was impressed. Not many techniques could overpower even one of the gates, much less all three. He'd meant for it to only be a demonstration of his might when he'd summoned all three gates, so he was stunned that he was actuallly having to use them all, and against a freshly promoted Chunin no less.

* * *

Jiraiya and Tsunade watched in horror as the technique exploded, sending Naruto careening backwards into a tree, the Kyuubi's chakra dissipating on impact.

Though the chakra still worked to heal the blond's fresh injuries, Naruto's loss of consciousness caused the seal to take hold, meaning that only the chakra being used to heal the head wound he had suffered was getting through.

Jiraiya sighed in relief as he witnessed his temporary student's survival, not wanting to lose any more of his students, having lost every shinobi he had ever trained over the years.

Tsunade was silent. Though she felt relief that the brat that she had started to become fond of had survived, her hemophobia was holding her back from rushing to his aid.

Fortunately for her, Shizune felt no such restriction, appearing alongside Neji and Shino who promptly picked up the blond and rushed away from the battlefield.

Despite having a chance to fight his former teammates without interference, Orochimaru felt that he needed to get away from the battlefield, needing time to factor these unexpected circumstances into his upcoming plans.

'Such strength! Magnificent! Such arrogance, too! Minato's brat will be easier to manipulate than Sasuke-kun.' Orochimaru thought without a trace of compassion, formulating plans to gain control of the blond in his mind.

His assessment of the blond was accurate. Though the blond's fiery arrogance had likely been tempered by his defeat at the hands of Kabuto, it was unlikely that it would be enough to disillusion him.

Naruto's confidence in his own abilities, especially after his spectacular victories in the Chunin Exams had led him to grow arrogant. Of course, what slipped his mind was the simple fact he had won each one of his battles with Genjutsu, which none thought he could use.

Though he didn't know it yet, Naruto had already become renowned for his use of Genjutsu, meaning it would be less of a surprise to his opponents than before.

On top of these factors, his subconscious belief that Kabuto's chakra control would allow him to break through his Genjutsu, all of which were low-ranked, with ease had held him back. As a result, he had forced himself into a straight fight, something which Anko had always advised him against, arguing that a real shinobi should almost never need to engage in a straight fight.

Orochimaru knew that he would be able to easily manipulate the blond, having dealt with similar personalities before.

Ordering Manda to attack his fellow summons, Orochimaru appeared by Kabuto's side, grabbing hold of his servant before fleeing from the scene.

Jiraiya tried to give pursuit but was scarcely able to avoid Manda's fierce maw.

Both Tsunade and Jiraiya gritted their teeth in frustration as Manda disappeared in a cloud of smoke, revealing that Orochimaru had escaped.

'More importantly, I need to check on that blond idiot.' Jiraiya thought to himself, concerned for the son of his deceased apprentice.

"That brat you brought with you is really something, huh?" Tsunade asked, shock adorning her face.

"Yeah, though he's getting a little big for his breeches." Jiraiya stated with some disappointment, noting how Naruto had been becoming increasingly confident in his own abilities of late.

Tsunade frowned, a displeased expression on her face.

"You seem a lot calmer, Tsunade. Hemophobia still troubling you?" Jiraiya asked, believing he already knew the answer.

"Not anymore." Tsunade lowly stated, determined to find her resolve in the hopes that she could save the lives that would need saving in the coming days.

Jiraiya was surprised, but merely offered Tsunade a smile, glad that she had started to look past her demons a little.

Nodding to each other, the two rushed off to find Naruto and the others.

* * *

 _ **Hotel Room, Tanzaku Town:**_

Naruto awakened in a familiar bed. Recognising it as the one he had slept in the last few nights, the blond wondered what had happened with Kabuto and the others.

Snapping up into a sitting position, Naruto looked around the room. Though it was faint, he felt as though he could sense several chakra signatures outside the door.

Unfamiliar with the usage of sensory abilities, Naruto couldn't recognise the chakra signatures and got out of bed, dropping into a combat stance, fearing that Itachi and Kisame had returned for him.

In truth, Naruto had become somewhat afraid of the duo, Itachi especially, after their previous confrontation. He was honestly surprised that he had managed to escape, feeling that Itachi had seen through his every move.

There was a niggling suspicion in his mind, one he wasn't willing to voice but that he couldn't help but believe. Though he couldn't think of a motive, he was certain he had escaped only because Uchiha Itachi had allowed him to.

As the door started to open, Naruto dived from the window, not willing to risk being caught in one of Itachi's Genjutsu this time.

"What's wrong with the gaki? He just shot off like a bat out of hell!" Tsunade yelled to Jiraiya, unsure as to why Naruto had dashed off.

Outside, Naruto hid, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. Fortunately for the others, he hadn't fled far, which meant Neji was able to quickly track him.

Naruto's recent battles had taken their toll on his mind. Once the adrenaline had worn off, he was able to feel the real terror that had come with those two battles. He had fought what he believed to be an unwinnable battle against two S-Rank shinobi who were apparently targeting him, and then he had fought against Kabuto who had, for all intents and purposes, killed him by slashing his throat.

Acknowledging his fears had made Naruto wonder if shinobi life was really a smart choice. Backtracking, Naruto couldn't help but feel that it was the shinobi system itself that was messed up.

"Naruto." Neji called, prompting the blond to look up at his teammate.

"Oh. Hey, Neji." Naruto said lightly, his voice betraying a little of his anxiety.

Any other time, Neji probably would've mocked the blond for his weakness. After witnessing the blond having his throat slashed, however, he had become a little more sympathetic.

"This is odd for me to ask, Uzumaki, but are you alright?" Neji asked, slightly confused as to what he was supposed to say in this scenario.

"I'll get there." Naruto said simply, standing from his sitting position. Resolving himself to get over his fears for the time being, at least until he was back in the village, Naruto gave Neji a small smile.

"Thanks for worrying about me, Neji." Naruto gratefully expressed, surprised at his teammate's concern.

Neji waved off his thanks, honestly unsure as to why he had felt concern. Though he admitted the blond was the closest thing he had to a friend, he had yet to overcome his own demons.

'Perhaps Hokage-sama was right. I need to talk to Hiashi-sama.' Neji thought to himself, hopeful that he would find some answers.

Walking back to the others together, Naruto was bombarded with questions.

"What was that about, gaki?" Tsunade asked, wondering why Naruto had bolted so suddenly.

"Just wanted to play hide-and-seek, guess I forgot Neji had the Byakugan, ne?" Naruto retorted childishly. Tsunade, not quite believing his convenient lie, merely shook her head in response.

Jiraiya ruffled Naruto's hair, much to the blond's annoyance.

"What was that chakra during your battle, Naruto-san?" Shino asked, curious of his teammate's abilities.

Jiraiya shook his head, indicating that he should forget about the question.

"I can't answer that right now, Shino, but I promise that I'll tell you both when the time comes." Naruto assured Shino and Neji, the two nodding in response, accepting that was the best they would get for the time being.

Jiraiya gave Naruto a concerned look, worried about him telling them about the Kyuubi.

"It's only fair they learn eventually, Ero-sennin. They're my teammates after all." Naruto declared. Both Neji and Shino found themselves feeling oddly grateful, even though they weren't yet sure why.

Pushing that to the side for now, Jiraiya nodded, accepting the blond's decision.

Tsunade was snickering at Naruto's affectionate nickname for her fellow Sannin. Noticing this, Jiraiya developed a tic-mark on his head.

Once all the questions were out of the way, it all came down to the main point they were here for.

"So, is Baa-chan coming back to be Hokage or what?" Naruto asked, annoying Tsunade.

"I'm coming back to the village, but I don't know about being Hokage yet, brat." Tsunade fondly stated. Naruto reminded her of her younger brother far more than she would like.

Naruto grinned, glad that he had completed the mission, at least. He hoped that she would also heal Lee, feeling that the Genin didn't deserve the injury he had been given.

Agreeing to all head back to the village together, the now-larger group set off.

* * *

 _ **Kirigakure:**_

Sakura's infiltration into the rebellion was successful. She knew that Orochimaru would be pleased with her progress. However, she was also aware that both Zabuza and Haku were suspicious of her and of her story, which meant that she had been unable to send any communications of her success to her master.

Guren wouldn't be pleased by the silence. Knowing Guren, Sakura wouldn't even be surprised if she was already being cursed as a traitor for not sending her first communication back yet.

Sakura found she couldn't care less what Guren thought, knowing that she was still acting well within her orders. More to the point, Sakura was more concerned over the fate of her saviour.

'If I can complete this mission, will they let her go?' Sakura wondered to herself. Her loyalty to Orochimaru was assured so long as he held possession of the one who had saved her life. Sakura felt she owed no loyalty to Konoha anymore. Though she hoped to someday return, it was only her parents that she wanted to return to, her feelings towards her 'teammates' had long since died.

Any reason she had to return to Konoha had died along with her.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Thanks for reading Chapter 11 of Ripples and Consequences.**

 **Sorry it took a while longer than I said, other things came up that took priority. Thanks for your reviews so far.**

 **Review if you feel like it! Ja Ne!**


	12. Chapter 12

Ripples and Consequences

Chapter Twelve: To Be Hokage Pt 3.

 _ **Konoha, Village Gates:**_

"Ah, so we've finally made it back." Jiraiya loudly declared to his travelling companions, much to their relief.

Their journey had last three whole days, Naruto's injuries ensuring that they were unable to travel at their ideal speed. Due to the nature of the wounds the blond had suffered, even the Kyuubi's chakra was slow in healing him. Though Tsunade could've healed him, she felt that this would be a good lesson for Naruto in the dangers of relying on the power of the Kyuubi.

All of them were nervous about submitting their mission report. Although it was unlikely that there would be heavy consequences for Naruto, using the Kyuubi's power when he hadn't been trained to properly harness it yet was concerning for any shinobi that witnessed it.

On top of that, there was still the matter of telling Neji and Shino the truth. Neither of the two were ignorant, both knew that the chakra that the blond had used wasn't normal.

Equally, neither of them felt particularly afraid of the blond, possibly because both of their skillsets involved stopping an opponent from using their chakra.

Naruto felt disappointed with how the trip had gone. Although they had recovered Tsunade successfully, Naruto's tanto had been broken, he'd been forced to rely on the Kyuubi's power twice, almost died, and now it was likely that many of his graduating class would learn about the Kyuubi.

At the village gate, they were greeted by Kotetsu, whose shock over seeing the two Sannin together was immeasurable.

Izumo was suspiciously absent, but Naruto decided not to comment on it, his interactions with the two village gate guards having been limited in the past. Mostly, he felt a little insecure at the possibility that they hated him because of what he contained.

Tsunade looked around, feeling nostalgic as the village had barely changed since she had left. Although it had been destroyed and rebuilt after the Kyuubi attack, the layout was so familiar to her that you could almost believe it had never happened. Almost.

Even with the passage of time, some of the signs that the village had once been ruined remained. Though members of the younger generations, such as Naruto, Neji and Shino, wouldn't notice it, those who had lived in Konoha two decades ago knew that things weren't quite the same.

Naruto felt antsy, glad to be back in the village, but mostly concerned about the wellbeing of the Sandaime. They hadn't spoken much since the blond had become a shinobi, but Naruto would always consider the elderly Sandaime family.

Knowing how Naruto would be feeling, Tsunade laid her hand on his shoulder and smiled reassuringly.

"There's no need to worry, Gaki! Konoha's best medic has returned." Tsunade boasted, half-jokingly.

In truth, ever since the female Sannin had left the village, Konoha's medical progress had slowed to a crawl. Compared to other villages, Kumogakure most notably, Konoha's development in both the medical and technological fields had slowed considerably. History has proven well that progress is powered by necessity. With no catalyst to cause changes, it was almost as though the village had stopped caring in a sense.

Perhaps in some ways, the lack of war had weakened Konoha.

Tsunade pushed those morbid thoughts to the back of her mind, realising that she was thinking similarly to a certain rival of the Sandaime.

'I wonder what that manipulative geezer has been up to. Sarutobi-sensei was always way too soft on _that man._ ' Tsunade thought to herself. She didn't blame her sensei for the mistakes that he had made; in a way she thought that he had grown too gentle to be Hokage. Gone was the ruthless _Kami No Shinobi_ from days past whose presence was enough to keep all the other villages in check.

Still, she wouldn't hold grudges; she herself hadn't had the strength to kill Orochimaru at the time when he had defected, and they were still suffering from his actions. Danzo, on the other hand, didn't have the charisma or the morality of her sensei, but in his own way he was well intentioned enough.

"Thanks, Baa-Sama" Naruto said belligerently, causing a tic mark to form on the older blonde's temple.

"Care to repeat that, brat?" Tsunade dared, a menacing expression adorning her features. Naruto gulped and wisely decided to keep his mouth shut for the time being.

Jiraiya snickered at their interaction, before finding himself winding up on the receiving end of Tsunade's anger and being sent flying into the distance.

Naruto pitied Jiraiya briefly, but mercilessly crushed those thoughts as Tsunade looked like she was daring him to comment on her actions. Shizune was surprisingly nonchalant, far too familiar with Tsunade's rather violent temper.

Before long, the group was greeted by an ANBU and escorted to the Hokage Tower, where Jiraiya was already awaiting their arrival.

"Hey Jiraiya, when did you get here?" Tsunade questioned innocently. Naruto tried and failed to suppress a grin at the mocking question.

'You know full well when and how I got here.' Jiraiya thought to himself bitterly. Ordinarily, Jiraiya would voice those sentiments in some form of whiny complaint too. It was testament to how serious the situation was that he only briefly grimaced.

Tsunade's expression, too, set into a worried frown after the almost complete lack of her response from her usually overly dramatic teammate. Naruto, not picking up on the atmosphere, asked the question that everyone was skittishly avoiding.

Neji and Shino looked uncomfortable, having already guessed what had happened.

"Where's Hokage-Jii-Sama?" Naruto asked, growing increasingly suspicious of the tense atmosphere that had suddenly formed in the room.

"We were too late, Gaki. He's gone." Jiraiya said solemnly, pain filling his eyes at the news he was bestowing his godson with, knowing it would break his heart.

"Gone where? Jii-san shouldn't be going anywhere, he's too injured! Unless he got better somehow while we were away; ne, did Jii-san start feeling better? I knew that snake teme couldn't keep him down for long!" Naruto exclaimed far more cheerfully than he felt, hopelessly trying to deny the reality that was being forced in front of him.

"Naruto, that's-" Neji started to interrupt Naruto's tirade, but Jiraiya stared at him reproachfully. Recognising that Jiraiya was still the team's leader, Neji backed down and glanced worriedly at the blond who he had begrudgingly acknowledged as his friend.

Continuing to delude himself, the blond carried on ranting about how powerful the Sandaime was and how nothing could kill him. Everyone in the room was watching him sadly. Even Shino felt that this scene was painful to watch.

"You're more intelligent than that, Naruto. We were too late." Tsunade said, pain and remorse filling her voice.

"And whose fault is that? Yours! If you didn't make us spend so long convincing you to come back, he'd still be here now!" Naruto shouted in anger, his voice cracking as tears started to form. Tsunade stared at the floor remorsefully. Though she knew that Naruto was only blaming her out of anger, a voice in her heart was telling her that she really was to blame.

"Naruto! Go cool off!" Jiraiya shouted at the younger blond, mildly infuriated at the young Chunin's callousness.

"You know, I didn't think that was how it was with you, Jiraiya- _sensei."_ Naruto hissed out, his fiery rage turning ice cold. "You were in a team with Orochimaru, and he betrayed the village. You brought me out of the village on a stupid mission to try and save Jii-san, and now I don't even get to say goodbye!" Naruto cried, each word making him feel as though his heart was being crushed by their weight.

Jiraiya couldn't help the painful grimace that entered his expression, acknowledging the truth behind his godson's words. Naruto, meanwhile, had left out of frustration.

Neji, and even Shino, wanted to go after him, but were obligated to follow their team leader's orders in absence of their Hokage.

* * *

 **Memorial Stone:**

Naruto wandered aimlessly until he eventually found himself in front of the memorial stone. Most of his anger had dried up, and he was now filled with a hollowness, tempered by remorse for the hurtful words he had just uttered to the two Sannin.

Looking at the monument, Naruto looked down the list of names until he found the one that he was searching for.

'Kaa-san. I bet you'd be able to tell me the words I need to hear right now.' Naruto thought to himself, his fingers idly tracing the name, Uzumaki Kushina, that was engraved on the monument.

"You know, she was a wonderful woman." A voice resounded next to the blond.

"Kakashi, you knew my Kaa-san?" Naruto questioned curiously, hoping to hear more about his mother and to stop thinking about the Sandaime, if only for a while.

Having spoken to Jiraiya already, Kakashi could guess how the blond was feeling at that moment but decided not to dig into the blond who was obviously hurting at that moment. He also chose to ignore the blond choosing not to call him sensei as, honestly, he didn't entirely blame him for it, himself feeling that he was unworthy to be considered the teacher for Team 7, which had been officially disbanded due to his own actions (or lack thereof).

"Yeah, she was a radiant woman. Her smile almost never left her face, and she had enough kindness that it could be shared with the entire village and there'd still be more left over." Kakashi said reminiscently, remembering the days when he himself had been a member of the previous incarnation of Team 7.

Naruto blinked tears out of his eyes, clinging to the information about the mother he never got to meet.

"Except when she was mad of course. I remember one-time Obito complained about her cooking and she whacked him with a frying pan. I'd have wagered he'd lost some brain cells from how loud it clanged, but to be honest I don't think he had any in the first place." Kakashi reminisced, a sad smile slipping on to his face.

Naruto chuckled a little, feeling a little of the weight lifting from his shoulders.

"Ne, Kakashi?" Naruto asked hesitantly, unsure of the words that he wanted to find in this situation.

"Yes, Naruto?" Kakashi asked in response, detecting the change in the atmosphere around the downtrodden blond.

"Why can't I save anyone? I try my hardest all the time, but it never amounts to anything." Asked the blond, baring his vulnerabilities to his former Jonin-sensei. Whatever resentment Naruto may have felt towards his sensei had fizzled away when he had spoke of his mother.

He'd detected sincerity, and possibly a hint of reverence, in his words. But he also sensed guilt. When he looked at the one eye that Kakashi had on display, he could see an amount of guilt and pain, that looked as though it threatened to swallow the ground beneath him. Despite his previous anger towards the Jonin, he couldn't help feeling concern towards him too.

Kakashi's sad smile returned as he thought about the question posed to him.

"You know, Naruto, saving everyone is hard. You lose the people that you try the hardest to hold on to, and you lay awake at night questioning what it's all for. Do you want to know why I continue being a shinobi despite that?" Kakashi asked Naruto in return, hoping to help carry even a little of the blond's burden.

Naruto tilted his head in question, hoping to find some meaning to all the loss and the sorrow.

"I tell myself that I'll be stronger, that I'll be faster the next time. More importantly, I tell myself that if I carry all the burdens myself then no one else will ever have to. Truth is, Naruto, we can't stop people from dying in this or any other world. What we can do is keep going. It doesn't have to be a run, you can walk, or even crawl, but you must keep on moving. Nobody dies for nothing unless everyone stops caring." Kakashi imparted to Naruto, his words weighing heavy.

"What if you're the one who gets them killed though? How can I face Sakura, or even Jiji in the next life? I killed Sakura, and I didn't even say goodbye to the old man. I never got to tell him how much he meant to me, or to make him proud of me. I just acted stupid and boastful all the time, only ever showing him my uncool side. Even the Chunin exams I only won by luck." Naruto ranted miserably, guilt wrapping chains around his heart.

"Naruto, you didn't kill Sakura, the fox did. Sandaime-sama? Trust me, there's no way you should be worried about those things. When he looked at you, or even when your name was mentioned, his eyes were full of pride. He knew, just as I know, that you can carry the torch that lights the way for the next generation of the Will of Fire. Not to mention the Chunin exams. Ask Jiraiya-sama for the Sandaime's diary after his funeral and you'll see just how proud of you he was. What you did in those exams wasn't luck, Naruto, it was the result of the culmination of all your hard work up till now. Do you think other Jinchuriki would be able to cast Genjutsu as seamlessly as you did, especially while they were Genin?" Kakashi tried to reassure the blond, feeling as though he'd never truly understood his former student until now.

Naruto had a pained smile on his face at this.

"It doesn't change the fact that I let the fox go wild. I've started to remember it each night when I go to sleep; the scared look on her face just before the fox, no, just before _I_ killed her." Blaming himself for Sakura's death, the blond told his former sensei something he'd never planned on telling anyone.

Tracing a certain name on the monument, Kakashi started.

"Let me tell you a story about when I was your age."

* * *

 **Konoha Academy:**

Iruka was sat at his desk, marking the papers for the pop quiz he had assigned to his class for the day. His new class was in their first year of the academy, as all instructors had one class from its first year until its last.

Itching the scar across the bridge of his nose, the Chunin teacher thought fondly of his students, past and present, but a few stood out strongly in his mind. Konohamaru, in his newest class, was a loud troublemaker, always running around playing pranks and getting himself into trouble. He couldn't help feeling worried on how the joyful student would be feeling once the public announcement of the Sandaime's passing was made.

Everyone knew that Hiruzen was injured by Orochimaru, but none doubted his ability to recover. Iruka could even remember the man still standing and giving a speech to the newly promoted Chunin. His resolve holding fast like that of the great tree that is Konoha.

No matter which train of thought he took, they all kept leading him to thinking about the troublemaker from his last class, Uzumaki Naruto. He kept comparing Konohamaru with him and remembering how proud he felt after seeing him achieve victory in the Chunin Exams.

'Since Naruto is a Chunin now, I'll bet he's been told about Sandaime-sama already.' Iruka thought to himself, worried about how the blond might be feeling.

Resolving himself, Iruka decided to go to Naruto's favourite place once he got off work in hopes of finding him there.

* * *

 **Memorial Stone:**

"Jeez, Kakashi-sensei, I feel bad for complaining about my problems now." Naruto said, half in jest, but also half seriously.

Kakashi had told Naruto about how he felt that he had caused Obito's death by slowing his team down, as well as killing Rin with his signature technique. He also told the blond how he felt as though he wasn't around the one time that he could've helped his sensei, and how he didn't even realise Kushina's life was in danger until she was already being mourned.

Smiling slightly at how Naruto had begun calling him sensei again, Kakashi let out a nostalgic sigh before imparting some sagely wisdom to his intently listening blond pupil.

"I won't give up on life just because it's painful, that'd be spitting on their memory. I'll never betray this village, because this is the village my precious people loved, so I love it too. It's important not to take the people around you who care about you for granted, and to protect them with everything you've got. Maybe I won't ever manage, but I'll keep fighting to keep those I hold close alive."

Naruto found himself tearing up at Kakashi's words, finding a new resolve. Kakashi's words hadn't been able to magically heal the wounds on Naruto's heart, but they felt a little less painful knowing there was someone who had been hurt who could keep standing back up.

"Arigato, Kakashi-sensei. I'm sorry for holding a grudge for so long." Naruto apologised sincerely, feeling that he was the one in the wrong.

"Maa, maa. There's no need for that. Though, if you can try and form a connection with Sasuke I'll be grateful. He's not so open when he's hurting so it's hard to find the right words to help him understand." Kakashi said emphatically, hoping Naruto could see some of the cracks forming in his former teammate's mind. Indeed, Naruto had borne witness to some of Sasuke's madness. Remembering Sasuke's single-minded resolve to kill Itachi when they were in Tanzaku Town, Naruto shivered a little.

"I'll try, sensei." Naruto promised, resolving himself to try to talk to Sasuke at the nearest opportunity.

Naruto could feel it whenever he was near Sasuke. Darkness smothered Sasuke's entire being, and it almost felt as though there was an abyss inside of him. Something inside of him stirred at that thought, though whether it was his emotions or the fox's he couldn't tell.

Feeling much calmer, Naruto decided he would have to apologise to Jiraiya and Tsunade for what he'd said out of spite.

Kakashi waved goodbye before disappearing in a shunshin. Sighing at the man's eccentricity, Naruto headed back towards the Hokage Tower in the hopes of making things right.

* * *

 **Hokage Tower:**

"You're sure he'll come back?" Neji asked for the umpteenth time, doubtful of Jiraiya's ability to accurately predict his blonde teammate's behaviour. Tsunade chose not to speak up, deciding to trust Jiraiya's judgement.

"He'll come back. Despite how he looks, and acts at times, that brat's well on his way to becoming a man." Jiraiya said, pride in his voice despite the blond's outburst towards him earlier. Perhaps it was a sign of the kind of life he had led, but Jiraiya had grown too old and too thick skinned to be brought to tears by the words of an angry teenager.

On cue, a knock resounded at the door.

Jiraiya smiled as the door slowly opened to reveal a familiar whiskered face.

"Naruto, so nice of you to join us." Jiraiya said teasingly, trying to make it apparent that he'd already forgiven his godson.

"Gomen, Jiraiya-sensei, Tsunade-sama, my behaviour earlier was unbefitting of my rank. I hope you'll forgive my recent transgressions in light of the circumstances." At that sentence, the entire room looked shocked.

"Since when do you speak like that, gaki? I didn't know you had the presence of thought to use big words like those." Tsunade teased, prompting a tic mark to appear on the younger blond's forehead. Despite this, Naruto decided not to verbally react, feeling that he was the one who was in the wrong.

"Anko-sensei told me how I should speak in front of my superiors or on a mission involving foreign dignitaries." Naruto explained, drawing a surprised expression from Tsunade.

"After hearing your foul mouth when we first met, I could believe that Anko was your sensei, but she's really committing to the role, huh?" Tsunade questioned rhetorically, surprised by the depth of training the younger blond had received from a kunoichi that Tsunade had written off as being her estranged teammate's failed apprentice.

"Yeah, Anko-sensei is the best teacher I could've asked for. I'm grateful for everything Shikaku-sensei has taught me, but there's no way I'd have gotten this far without Anko-sensei." Naruto stated, with some pride for his teacher in his voice. Despite recognising the rhetoric, he wanted everyone to know his sensei was a great kunoichi.

Noting that Naruto had stated that Shikaku was also training him, Tsunade decided to take some stock from Naruto's words at face value. Perhaps it was sentimentality, or maybe it was the fact that she could see Dan and Nawaki's images overlapping with Naruto's own, but Tsunade found herself believing in the sincerity of his words.

"I'm sorry for blaming you for Jiji's death, Tsunade-sama. I know that he was your sensei long before he was my Jiji." Naruto stated remorsefully, ashamed of his earlier outburst.

Tsunade waved away Naruto's apology, feeling that he had been somewhat right in what he had said. Acknowledging her own failures, the blonde Sannin decided she would try to respect her sensei's memory.

"Tsunade has decided to become our new Hokage once Sarutobi-sensei's funeral has passed. I trust that you'll all keep this knowledge to yourselves until the public announcement is made." Jiraiya stated, leaving no doubts on the underlying threat of his words.

Nodding in unison, Neji, Naruto and Shino turned to face Tsunade and stood at attention.

Feeling a little sheepish at the sudden formality being directed towards her, Tsunade resolved herself to fulfil her first official duty as Hokage.

"Congratulations on completing your mission. With this, the three of you are officially inducted into the Hunter-Nin Corps. I'm expecting great things from the three of you, and I hope you'll do this great village proud." At those words, the three stood even straighter, pride and resolve in all their eyes.

"Until further notice, the three of you are on extended leave." Confusion flitted across their expressions. All three felt that her words contradicted what she had said previously but didn't dare to question their acting Hokage.

"I trust none of you have problems with this order? No? Good. Konoha needs to have a showing of strength right now, with the recent invasion throwing things out of whack. We can't have our three newly promoted Chunin disappearing off the radar before making a name for themselves." Tsunade continued to explain, trying to convey her point without directly saying that Konoha needed its new generation to have a shinobi who can stand atop them all.

In her generation, there was the three Legendary Sannin, each being far more powerful than the average Jonin, eventually reaching heights to stand on par with the other Kage. Sadly, one of those Sannin had defected, and the other two's inability to defeat the third only made the rest of the world doubtful of their abilities in comparison to Orochimaru's.

Afterwards, there was Minato Namikaze. A prodigy in every sense, the Yondaime Hokage was not a man who would soon be forgotten by the world. Slaying armies single-handedly, easily handling peace negotiations and relations with the Daimyo and his court; he even mastered Fuinjutsu to a level that hadn't been seen before, or since, within the confines of Konohagakure.

Arguably, the seal masters of Uzugakure may have been his better in the Fuinjutsu arts, but even that wasn't a certainty.

However, the sealing of the Kyuubi had brought an early demise to the young Kage, and Konoha still hasn't recovered from losing such a heroic leader. His student, Kakashi Hatake, was also a prodigy on the battlefield. However, trauma in his life had led him to develop PTSD, and he was rather lax in his own training as a result. Though that had been changing gradually since Sakura's unfortunate loss, the man still wasn't fit to be the hero the village needed.

On the other hand, there was a certain blond who was quickly shaping up to have the right qualities. His abilities laid mainly in stealth and deception, but that would only make Tsunade and Jiraiya's idea more effective.

Perhaps it was true that Konoha didn't have a shinobi young and strong enough to be a hero, but the rest of the world didn't need to know that.

"In this time, I'm expecting the three of you to become far stronger than you are now. There is an organisation known as the Akatsuki, of which Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki who you encountered the other day are members. Their organisation is full of S rank and possibly stronger shinobi. We don't know exactly what their goal is, but we do know that they'll be making their first real moves in three years' time. By then, your generation needs to at least be able to stand your ground against shinobi of the highest calibre, if not defeat them." All three gulped at that revelation, not having foreseen such a hefty expectation being laid upon their shoulders.

Unconsciously, Neji looked over at Jiraiya and saw a strange expression flitting across his face as he glanced at Naruto. Himself looking at Naruto out of the corner of his eye, he wondered if the blond had something to do with Akatsuki's goals, or if Jiraiya seemed to believe the blond would one day be able to stand toe-to-toe with S rank shinobi.

It was a goal that most shinobi aspired to, but few ever achieved. Often, those who climbed their way to S rank did so through a path of sweat, tears, and blood, leaving behind anything and everything that was once important to them to become almost peerless in ability. For this reason, many Jonin opted not to aim higher than A rank, as being an S rank shinobi meant lots of sacrifice and meant there was always a target on your head from the other villages.

After placing such high expectations on the three of them, Tsunade dismissed them to return to their training. Jiraiya left with them, deciding he needed to have a serious conversation with his blond pseudo-apprentice.

"Naruto." Jiraiya called in a serious tone, prompting the blond to turn to face him. Neji and Shino, recognising the tone the man had used, left to head back to their own clan compounds to begin training for their difficult roles in the village hierarchy.

"What is it?" Naruto asked in a subdued voice, still feeling remorseful for his earlier outburst.

"Cut that out Gaki, it isn't like you." Jiraiya prompted, bringing a small smile to the blond's face. In the blond's eyes, Jiraiya could see a little of the spark his father had always had in his eye right before going into battle.

'You look so much like him, it hurts.' Was the thought of the Toad Sage, sorely missing his apprentice who had died at such a young age.

"What is it, Ero-sennin? You're giving me the look you usually give women and it's creeping me out." Naruto stated rudely. Jiraiya snorted in amusement at the comment, though pushed the thought that Naruto was lucky he wasn't being trained by Orochimaru out of his mind.

Giving the blond a reproachful glance, the Sannin decided to just ask the question he had on his mind.

"You've figured out what Akatsuki are after on your own already, haven't you?" Jiraiya asked seriously, wanting to know what made the blond tic, how his brain worked, and how he felt about the threat of the Akatsuki hunting him.

"Me, or more accurately, the Kyuubi, right?" Naruto asked, prompting Jiraiya to nod, though he remained silent to see if the blond would come up with anything else. "If I hazard a guess, I'd say they're after the tailed beasts, rather than just Kyuubi. I can't say for sure what they'd be gathering them for, but I'm sure it's nothing good." Jiraiya's eyes widened. Though he had been hoping the blond would key on to the Akatsuki's goal, he hadn't expected it to happen without any prompting.

Shikaku's training was doing wonders for the blond. His analytical abilities were far beyond those of most of his fellow classmates. With more time of sharpening his mind like this, the blond could become a nightmare on the battlefield for his opponents. For a moment, it gave Jiraiya pause as to whether his plans for the blond's training over the next few years would be the right course of action.

"That's right, Naruto. We haven't yet figured out what their goal is, but rest assured we'll protect you when the time comes." Jiraiya smiled at this, resolving that he wouldn't lose Naruto in similar fashion to how he had lost Minato.

"Don't worry, Ero-sennin. Three years from now, I'll take Itachi, Kisame, and the rest of the Akatsuki down a few pegs." Naruto grinned, radiating confidence. At that moment, Jiraiya couldn't help believing the blond could do it. There was a level of charisma that he was emanating that Jiraiya hadn't seen since his previous apprentice, and there was a fire in his eyes that promised to burn those who would try to quench it.

'Guess you got me again, huh, Kushina? He's the spitting image of you, with Minato's hair, but he's definitely your son through-and-through.' Jiraiya smiled reminiscently, a small pang resonating in his heart.

"Sure you will, Gaki." Jiraiya said softly, affectionately ruffling Naruto's hair. Pouting at his mussed-up hair, the blond tried to run his fingers through it to get it back to how it was.

Though the confident grin was still in place, the childish attempts to fix his hair left Jiraiya chortling.

'So, this is the new generation's will of fire? I bet you're resting peacefully in Gekai, Sensei.' Jiraiya thought fondly, saying a last farewell to the elderly Kage who had shaped him into a powerful shinobi.

* * *

 **Nara Clan Compound:**

Shikaku was almost baffled by the number of traps he was having to dodge from his blond student. He'd suggested a spar to allow him to accurately assess Naruto's abilities and figure out what he could help to refine but had found himself constantly avoiding booby-traps that he was confident weren't there earlier in the day.

Grinning, Naruto jumped towards his sensei, kunai in hand, planning to end the match in a single move. Confident that Shikaku was occupied handling the traps that he had set, Naruto speedily rushed in, making only faint efforts to keep his approach undetected.

However, he was underestimating the Jonin leader of Konohagakure.

Turning in a flourish, Shikaku launched a kick at the blond at speeds that the Chunin could only hope to imitate. Sliding back from the impact to his guard, Naruto was shocked as he heard a sizzling and quickly jumped away from an exploding tag at his feet. Somersaulting away, Naruto found himself trapped by a shadow as soon as he landed.

"Got you, Naruto. Though I wonder why you didn't try using any Genjutsu. Anyway, that's checkmate." Naruto pouted, seemingly disappointed that the spar had ended so quickly. Approaching the blond, Shikaku kicked the blond's legs out from under him, causing a cloud of smoke.

"Mou, when did you figure it out, sensei?" Naruto asked from the treeline, genuinely curious as to when his Kage Bunshin had been pegged. Intending to spring from the tree to launch an ambush, Naruto found himself unable to move his legs. He was able to turn his eyes down just enough to spot that his shadow, which was in the path of several bushes, had been ensnared.

"Mostly when you charged in blindly, though I predicted you'd do something like that from the start. Your best weapon is your unpredictability, Naruto. Use it." Shikaku advised, making the blond realise that when Shikaku had called checkmate, he really did mean the battle was over.

Sulking slightly at how easily he was defeated, Naruto jumped down from the branch he'd been crouched on, acknowledging the end of their spar. Though he was a little bitter at how easily he was defeated, it just further helped the knowledge that his sensei was rightfully the village's Jonin leader sink in.

"So, why didn't you use Genjutsu, Naruto?" Shikaku asked, purposely pressing the blond on the question that he'd tried to avoid. Slightly annoyed that he'd been figured out so easily, the Chunin scratched the back of his head sheepishly and acknowledged the point.

"I can't use anything higher than C rank without a lot more chakra control training, sensei. I've only got three years to train before Akatsuki come and training a skill that was completely ineffective on the members I thought doesn't seem like good use of my time." Naruto admitted, conceding the point that his Genjutsu might have been of use in that spar, but determined to grow strong without it.

"How did you weaken the opposition in the Chunin exams, Naruto? How'd you beat Temari, a tactician who even my son would've had trouble against? How'd you beat Gaara and prevent a large-scale invasion that would've likely weakened the village for years to come?" Shikaku pressed, trying to push his point across to the blond. Naruto's eyes widened in realisation.

"Genjutsu." He muttered lowly, feeling that without his Genjutsu, he wasn't skilled enough to be a Chunin.

"That's right. Genjutsu. You're probably feeling a little inferior right now, right? Feeling like your Genjutsu is the only thing that makes you a decent shinobi?" Shikaku continued to question, easily figuring out how the blond was feeling.

Naruto smiled weakly, knowing that his sensei had seen right through him. As he was about to affirm the Nara clan head's reasoning, the man cut in abruptly.

"Why does it matter if that's why you're strong?" Surprise flickered across the blond's face at the question, uncertain what Shikaku meant.

"If Genjutsu is where your strength lies, use it. True, after the Chunin Exams, you likely won't have the element of surprise with it anymore, since everyone knows our container is an illusionist. That just means you need to develop your other skills, and to learn to deceive your enemies. I have little doubt that Anko plans on turning you into an assassin, rather than the juggernaut that the village council desires. Use that. Train your mind as well as your body and use every means at your disposal to defeat your opponents. It doesn't matter if your opponent can break illusions if they don't realise they're in one." Shikaku stated clearly, hoping that he could sway the blond, at least slightly, to walk a different path than where Danzo and the village elders would want him to.

Perhaps he didn't wish to see Naruto turned into an assassin, someone who viciously cuts the throat of their opponents with no thought for right or wrong, but Shikaku had a feeling that the blond wouldn't turn out like that, no matter how much he was shaped and moulded. No matter what anyone said about the blond, no one could say he didn't have heart.

Besides, even the Yondaime had cut down many on the battlefield. Likely more than any assassin ever could; the real difference in whether he was a hero or a murdered only laid on which side you were fighting for.

"Thanks, Shikaku-sensei." Naruto stated simply, feeling that mere words weren't enough to express his gratitude to the man for lifting away some of the clouds that had been forming around his heart. Resolving himself that his goal to be a Genjutsu master wasn't the incorrect path, the Chunin could already feel a weight lifted from him.

Shikaku was pleased with the results of his persuasion. Though he hoped his student would make the correct choice, he could only guide him; it was up to the blond himself to decide what it was that he was going to do.

Still, there was something more pressing on Shikaku's mind.

"You've been told about Akatsuki, then?" Asked Shikaku, quickly changing the subject from their previous conversation.

Recognising the gravity of the question posed to him, Naruto quickly apologised to his sensei for not talking to him about it sooner and said he had only just learned about it from Jiraiya, which was at least partially truthful; after all, he'd figured it out before Jiraiya had told him.

"I see. I think it's time we step up your training a little, Naruto." Shikaku softly stated, lamenting the loss of his precious resting time. Though, he comforted himself by thinking that he'd drag his son into the training as well. Although Shikaku was a man who enjoyed his rest, he'd much rather put in more work if it meant he wouldn't have to hear the news that his son hadn't come home from a mission, and he found himself also quickly growing attached to his blond student.

'Hopefully, they'll be a good influence on one another.' Thought Shikaku, hoping that Naruto would be able to bring a little motivation out of Shikamaru. Similarly, he hoped that his son would be able to help the blond to mellow out a little, and to continue to mould his mind to become a better leader of shinobi in the future.

Despite keeping it to himself, Shikaku was deeply concerned about his son. He wouldn't dream of making Shikamaru do anything he didn't want to, that seemed like such a drag after all. Indeed, even if Shikamaru had decided not to become a shinobi, Shikaku would've supported him. Though he bet Yoshino would've wrung his neck for it.

However, at the same time, as a father he wanted to protect his son from the horrors of the shinobi world. Shikaku knew that Shikamaru was a genius, feeling that one day he could even turn out to be brighter than himself, but he knew that something would have to temper his son's laziness. He only hoped that it could be Naruto's influence, rather than, as he suspected, having to lose a subordinate as a squad leader.

Truthfully, Shikaku knew that Shikamaru needed to feel the weight of responsibility, and as Jonin Leader, he didn't want to let the Genin's potential go to waste. As a father, however, he hoped that his son would be able to find his feet in the world without having to go through some of the horrors that he himself had witnessed at a similar age.

Eager for more training, Naruto pestered Shikaku about what he would be teaching him, remembering that the man had said he wouldn't teach the blond any of his clan's techniques. Until now, however, the blond had always thought that all his "official" sensei would be teaching him was tactics and strategic analysis, so it came as a surprise to him that he would be learning more from the man.

Resigning himself to his fate, Shikaku groaned and pushed his bleaker thoughts to the back of his mind for the time being.

* * *

Naruto and Shikamaru both stood in the compound's gardens, wondering what kind of training they were about to be subjected to. Shikamaru was reluctant, as he had been dragged by Naruto and forced into participating. However, he really wasn't all that bitter. It isn't as though he'd peacefully fallen asleep whilst watching the clouds. He wasn't bitter at all. Really.

Still, Shikamaru admitted to himself that more training was a necessity. After how easily his team had been man-handled at the Chunin Exams, he felt that he needed to become much stronger. After all, in the Chunin Exams deaths were rare, on real missions they were all too common. Not wanting either Ino or Chouji to be killed on the battlefield because of his laziness, he decided he'd put a little more effort in to get stronger. Just a little though.

Each of them was given a piece of paper.

"Dad, what's this all about?" Shikamaru asked, unsure of why he'd been dragged out here, just to be handed a piece of paper.

"Yeah, sensei, what gives?" Naruto asked in a similarly petulant manner.

Shikaku sighed, feeling that his whole day was going to feel like a drag, training the two of them.

"It's called chakra paper, you channel your chakra into it and it'll show you what your elemental affinity is." Shikamaru's eyes widened marginally, having read about elemental affinities in a book. Naruto, meanwhile, looked clueless. Though he understood what the words meant individually, he couldn't quite tell what an elemental affinity was from that alone. He'd never heard of anyone turning into fire, after all.

"Baka, elemental affinities are your alignment to a specific chakra nature. As in, if your chakra's elemental affinity is fire, you'll find it easier to learn katon natured jutsu, and they'll often be more powerful than those of someone who doesn't have an affinity or hasn't trained it." Shikamaru patiently explained, trying to get across to Naruto how important mastering this training could potentially be for their futures as shinobi.

"That's true, Shikamaru. But did you know that someone with fire natured jutsu can still learn other elements jutsu? Or that you can develop a second elemental affinity, and in rare cases a third, simply by training a lot in that jutsu nature?" Shikamaru's eyes widened at the new information that his father gave to him. He was aware that shinobi existed who had multiple affinities, but he thought that those people were just born lucky and didn't realise that they could achieve those results with hard work.

"However, hypothetically, if your elemental affinity was fire, that means you'd also have more trouble learning water jutsu than you would if you were any other nature." Shikaku advised, trying to make abundantly clear that they'd have to work hard to achieve good results.

"So, what about kekkei genkai users?" Naruto asked softly, a little confused about affinities of shinobi such as Haku.

Both Shikaku and Shikamaru looked surprised at the question from the blond, not having expected him to immediately grasp the topic. Though the blond was getting more intelligent, with how often he acted like an idiot it was hard for anyone to remember that he was fairly smart.

"Well, that's a good question, Naruto. Kekkei genkai often come in three different types; body, chakra, and mind. Techniques like our shadow jutsu that are passed down in the Nara clan are purely chakra based, whereas some others can be a mix of two or even all three of those types. For example, the Sharingan is both a body and chakra technique in that it is considered visual prowess but is based around observing the flow of chakra. I've heard a rumour that there's a certain 'feature' of the Sharingan that also classifies it as mind, but I've yet to see any proof of that." Shikaku explained, hoping to make it a lesson for his two students at the same time.

Naruto nodded, though he still felt his question had yet to be answered.

"Elemental based bloodlines are chakra-based kekkei genkai. For example, Gaara who you fought in the Chunin Exams used sand as a weapon, right?" Shikaku asked rhetorically. "Essentially, his elemental affinities must be Doton (earth) and Fuuton (wind), which combine together to make sand. That said, the only reason it's possible for them to be combined to the level that he does is because of a kekkei genkai."

Naruto nodded again, seemingly understanding the explanation.

"So, does that mean if my affinities were earth and wind, that I could learn to use sand too?" He asked. Though he wasn't hoping to use sand in particular, he hoped that he could expand his jutsu arsenal if he could combine two affinities.

"You could, but it'd likely be a lot harder for you than it is for Gaara. That said, with enough hard work you might be able to get it down. It's theorised that someone mastering two elemental affinities to that level is how elemental kekkei genkai came to be in the first place, so I won't say it's definitely impossible." Shikaku answered, hoping he wasn't putting ideas into the blond's head, knowing that once the blond decided he was going to do something, there was very little that anyone could do to dissuade him.

Moving on from the explanations, Shikaku urged both of them to channel chakra into their chakra paper.

Naruto strongly suspected he'd be water affinity since his origins were tied to Uzugakure. However, he was surprised when his paper split down the middle.

"What does that mean, sensei?" Naruto asked, confused about the paper's reaction to the insertion of his chakra.

"It means you have a Fuuton chakra nature, Naruto. That's pretty rare in Hi No Kuni. Maybe your goal of learning to use sand isn't so far out of reach after all." Shikaku said encouragingly, hoping the blond wouldn't dismiss his chakra nature as not being useful because it wasn't as flashy as some of the other chakra natures.

"That's cool, sensei, but I don't really want to learn to use sand anyway." Naruto stated, causing a small black cloud to form over Shikaku for a second before disappearing. Both Naruto and Shikamaru rubbed their eyes to try and confirm if they'd actually seen that or not but couldn't be sure.

"What's got you interested in kekkei genkai then?" Shikaku asked, curious of the blond's interest of mixing elemental affinities together.

"On my first mission, we fought a Hyoton user. I don't know, I guess I thought that I could picture myself using that too?" Naruto asked/stated, unsure on whether or not his idea was even possible, or a good idea in the first place.

"Well, Hyoton is formed from Fuuton and Suiton. So, who knows, maybe if you work at it, you'll be able to use Hyoton jutsu someday too." Shikaku encouraged once again.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru channelled some chakra into his own piece of chakra paper.

"It crumbled, that means Doton, right?" Shikamaru asked rhetorically, already knowing the answer to his own question.

"That it does. Doton is good for defensive jutsu as well as support and offence, it's pretty good all round, but its strengths mainly lay in defensive warfare." Patiently explaining the chakra nature, Shikaku felt like he was trying too hard to settle into the role of being a sensei.

Shikaku promised to start them both off with their elemental affinities from the next day but said that he'd over-exerted himself.

'All he did was spar with me for two minutes and then talk for half an hour. Does that really use that much energy?' Naruto thought to himself, but daren't voice it aloud.

Shikamaru nodded appreciatively, feeling that he was already long overdue a chance to resume his nap. Saying his goodbyes with Naruto, after securing a promise for another shogi match from the blond, the Nara clan heir left to enjoy the late afternoon sun.

'Right, guess I better go hold up my end of the bargain.' Naruto thought to himself, before heading in the direction of the hospital to talk to Sasuke.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Thanks for reading Chapter 12 of Ripples and Consequences. I'll try and be more frequent with my updates, especially once the new year begins, but until then.**

 **Review if you feel like it!**

 **Ja Ne!**


	13. Chapter 13

Ripples and Consequences

Chapter Thirteen: Despair

 **Konoha Hospital:**

Rubbing his bleary eyes, Sasuke sat up in his hospital bed. Staring at the wall in silence, an angry frown overtook his face.

'I guess I lost' the raven-haired Genin thought to himself in resignation. His hatred for his brother, Itachi, was threatening to swallow him whole. His disqualification from the Chunin Exams. His inability to defeat his brother. His failure to work as a team for even a single mission. Sasuke lamented his own failures as he sat in that bed, feeling powerless. Despite having acted superior to everyone else for years, the Uchiha heir's inferiority complex was threatening to eat him alive.

Curling his hand into a fist, Sasuke snarled aloud. Hatred bubbling up towards his brother, dark emotions swirled around the young man like an inferno. Through all of his self-loathing, he didn't notice a light knocking at the door.

Turning his head as the door slid open, Sasuke was unable to conceal his pure, unadulterated hatred from his blond former teammate, who stepped in before closing the door behind him.

"What do you want, Naruto?" Sasuke hissed out venomously, his anger now being directed to the blond who had walked away from a confrontation with Itachi far better than he himself had. Inferiority continued to well up within him, feeling that the blond had stolen his right to become a Chunin, and then hadn't even honoured the agreed exhibition match.

Sasuke felt cheated.

"Hey, Sasuke, I've come to check up on you." Naruto stated cheerily, trying to conceal the fact that he was all too aware of the negative emotions that his former teammate was directing at him. Kakashi had a point about how far gone Sasuke was, Naruto realised.

"Kakashi put you up to this, didn't he?" Sasuke growled out, seeing through the real reason for the blond's visit.

"He did." Naruto admitted easily, seeing no point in trying to conceal the truth. Everyone knew Naruto hated hospitals and would do everything in his power to avoid going to one unless he was forcibly being held there, so it was reasonable to expect that the blond had been pressured into visiting.

Even though he had expected that Kakashi had been the reason for the unexpected visit, Sasuke was surprised that Naruto had admitted to it so easily.

"I haven't seen you since the Chunin Exams." Naruto stated, refuelling Sasuke's anger at the blond over the perceived betrayal.

"What do you want, Naruto?" Sasuke asked angrily, feeling that the blond was trying to pity him, which only made Sasuke even more angry. No one casts pity on the Uchiha, much less a clanless orphan like _him_ was the thought running through the raven-haired Uchiha's mind.

At the question, the blond remained silent, thinking over the decision that he had made on his way to the hospital. If it was possible, the silence hanging in the air somehow grew even more tense. Perhaps if Sasuke had received the curse mark in the Forest of Death, as fate, or rather Orochimaru, had intended, then a fight would've already broken out then and there. As it was, Sasuke was walking on a tightrope, only a shaky balance between a deep pit of despair and the fiery flames of hatred.

"To be honest, Kakashi-sensei asked me to come talk to you, but I think that'd be a waste of time." Naruto revealed, seemingly casting off the burden that Kakashi had tried to put upon him.

Sasuke was shocked at the blond's honesty, having thought that his former teammate would try to lecture him on how he shouldn't have rushed in blindly at Itachi the way he had, on how he shouldn't laud his abilities and his status above everyone else, or even how his way of life infuriated the blond, so such a simple dismissal of that possibility almost left Sasuke unsure of how he should react.

"So, if you aren't here because Kakashi wanted you to come, why are you _really_ here?" Sasuke asked, his anger subsiding slightly from his curiosity. He had expected a number of things when the blond had walked into the room, a lecture, a brawl breaking out, the blond to go back to his former idiotic self, but not this. Anger was threatening to overwhelm Sasuke, but Naruto was calm as can be, having expected Sasuke's fury before he headed to the hospital.

Letting the silence stew a little in the air before giving his answer, Naruto sighed slightly.

"Kakashi will be peeved at me for this, I bet. Sasuke, I want to fight you." Challenged the blond.

Surprise flitted across the Uchiha's features, not having expected an open challenge to battle. Thinking about the intent behind the blond's sudden intent to battle him, Sasuke felt that it was a good chance to put his abilities to the test, feeling that Naruto was the only truly worthy opponent from their academy year.

Though Sasuke had acknowledged Shino's abilities, he didn't feel that the bug user was quite worthy of being his rival, though he could admit that he wouldn't be opposed to having the Aburame heir as a teammate or subordinate in future if it became necessary.

"Truth is, Sasuke, I think you'll listen to my fists more than my words." Naruto let that statement hang in the air for a moment, causing Sasuke to realise that Naruto hadn't decided to forego the idea of trying to teach him a lesson. Rather, he felt that he would be able to do so during a battle.

Sasuke smirked in response, feeling that the blond was overconfident in his own abilities and that he would finally knock him to where he belonged. Beneath him.

"Fine then, Naruto. Allow me to put you back in your place. When and where?" Sasuke asked, confident that so long as Naruto didn't choose a battlefield that was unreasonably in his favour, he could win. After all, Uchiha always win (except against other Uchiha, apparently).

"Have you heard of the Valley of the End?" Naruto asked quietly, trying to keep his voice low so that nobody outside the room would be able to hear him.

"I have." Sasuke affirmed, gears churning in his mind at the kind of stage that location would set for their battle. Internally, he was pleased with the tasteful choice.

"It's outside of the village, so we'll either need to sneak out or get a mission outside of the village to get there, but I don't want our battle to be interrupted. I'm not saying we'll fight to the death, but I think we can agree on no holding back." Naruto suggested, feeling that he couldn't accomplish his goal in this battle if there was somebody who could interfere.

Sasuke accepted easily, feeling similarly. He didn't plan on killing the blond, just putting him in his place, after all.

"Let's settle it, Sasuke." Naruto confidently challenged, turning to leave the hospital room.

"Thanks, Naruto." Sasuke muttered lowly, grateful for the distraction from all the haunting thoughts of revenge that had been filling his mind since his confrontation with Itachi.

Naruto smiled, out of sight from Sasuke, feeling that perhaps the visit had been worthwhile after all.

Exiting the hospital, Naruto was too shocked to react when he was grabbed and stuffed into a bag in broad daylight.

* * *

 **Unknown Location:**

Using a kunai to cut his way out of the bag, Naruto turned to look around for his kidnapper. Not spotting a figure in sight, the blond wondered why nobody had stopped the kidnapping from occurring in the first place, considering he'd been outside the hospital, so hardly an area that could be considered private.

In the first place, the only reason the blond Chunin hadn't fought back against his assailant was because he was swiftly put under the influence of a Genjutsu during the kidnapping, suggesting his opponent was a pro.

Grey stone walls surrounded him. That much he could figure out, despite the room being completely dark. He wondered briefly if he was in some kind of jail cell but dismissed the thought as the room seemed too large for that.

Running his fingers along the wall, Naruto could faintly feel grooves and scars in the wall indicating previous battles. From there, he then found something fixed on to the wall. Recognising the object to be a sconce, he tried feeling around the light fixture to try and find the sealing matrix used to power it.

Finding what he was looking for, the blond traced his fingers along the seal to ensure that it was a seal that he would be able to use and wouldn't turn out to just explode if he charged it with chakra. Despite not knowing much about Fuinjutsu as of yet, he had at least learned how to avoid activating a dangerous seal without taking the proper precautions. Technically speaking, Jiraiya had advised him never to operate a seal that wasn't his own or one that was sold commercially, but he felt he had no real choice.

Powering the seal with his chakra, the blond was satisfied as the light spread up to the ceiling, allowing him to better make out more of the details of the room.

Feeling the choice of light fixture may have been chosen intentionally, the blond looked to the ceiling to see if he could spot anything out of the ordinary. Finding what he was looking for, Naruto looked at the ventilation system, wondering if that was supposed to be his choice of exit from the room.

Deciding to search for a door first, Naruto looked around the room to see if there were any other noteworthy details. Spotting a section of the wall that appeared to be a different shade from the rest, he once more ran his hands along the wall in search of some kind of panel or hollow part of the wall.

Naruto had a strange sense of premonition. Charging chakra through the wall, he jumped back, instinct telling him that something was about to happen.

Upon the insertion of chakra, the wall began to slide away, revealing the blond's gear that was missing from him, including his kunai pouch and the tanto that Anko had bought for him. Alongside all of them was a large bundle of rope, confirming the blond's suspicions.

'So, the walls are designed so that you can't climb them with chakra then?' He thought to himself, testing his theory by putting a hand on the ordinary wall and charging chakra to his hand. Immediately, arrows started flying at him from the opposite wall, and spikes started to protrude from the wall he was touching. Barely pulling his hand back in time before having punctures, the blond drew his tanto and calmed his breathing.

His eyes tracing the arrows paths, Naruto dodged the first by a hair's breadth, already in motion to deal with the next arrow. Knowing that he couldn't use chakra other than on the intended seals without setting off more traps, his mind ran through rapid calculations on the trajectories, something that wouldn't have been possible for the blond mere months earlier.

Dropping to a crouch, he was able to avoid the second arrow, which would've otherwise pierced his skull. Lunging forward in a burst of speed, momentum propelled by his crouching motion, the blond slashed an arrow out of the air with his tanto. Drawing a kunai, the blond quickly attached an exploding tag and charged it with chakra, timing the fuse carefully.

Sliding to a sudden stop, the blond threw the kunai into one of the protrusions in the wall that was launching arrows, then barely managed to somersault backwards in time to avoid three arrows that came close to impaling him.

Smirking, the blond watched as his kunai hit its mark perfectly, jamming itself into the protrusion before exploding.

Naruto's smirk was wiped away as the wall somehow remained intact. Despite that, his method of attack wasn't _completely_ pointless, as the arrows ceased firing from that particular protrusion and a few others around it, suggesting the tag had caused damage to the devices, even though it hadn't damaged the walls.

Quickly noticing the blind spot, the blond moved into the area where no arrows were being fired, waiting out the remaining time of the trap's activation. Glad for the rest, the blond let out a heavy exhale. Ordinarily, he wouldn't have been half as winded as he was, but the lack of chakra usage, and the overall feeling of wariness was causing his mind to work overdrive.

In fact, his head was starting to hurt from all the quick thinking.

'How does Shikamaru do this all the time? I can almost see why he sleeps so much.' Naruto thought to himself, snickering despite the situation.

Finally, the arrows stopped being released, giving the blond an opportunity to think out his next move. Testing the strength of the rope by pulling it lightly, the blond figured out how he was supposed to escape the room, which led him to a much bigger issue in his mind.

Namely, the fact that while the trap was by no means easy to escape, it was still apparent that it was intentionally designed to be a logic puzzle. Though the blond Chunin questioned to himself who would have those kinds of designs over him but figured there was time to try and work that out later.

Pulling two arrows out of the wall with difficulty, Naruto jumped up near the vent, stabbing one arrow into the wall and hanging from it. Reaching upwards, he was able to stab the other arrow a little higher and get a little higher on the wall.

He was able to grab another arrow that was embedded higher up in the wall from there, getting him close to the ventilation shaft.

Freeing his right hand, he was able to grab hold of the bundle of rope and wrap it around one of the bars of the vent, tying a knot to secure the rope. Satisfied with his handiwork, the blond dropped down to the ground, rolling as he landed to reduce the impact in place of his chakra.

Fortunately for the blond, Anko had trained him to fight and manoeuvre without chakra in case he ever needed to make a getaway and couldn't afford to use chakra or risk being detected. As a result of that training, the newly promoted Chunin was easily able to recover from a landing that would've ordinarily broken his leg had he not used chakra.

It could be said that Anko was moulding the blond into a more traditional shinobi, the kind who didn't need chakra or flashy jutsu to win a battle.

Grabbing hold of the other end of the rope, Naruto pulled sharply, detaching the lid of the ventilation shaft. He hadn't expected it to be so easy to remove, but he supposed the vent was likely only one part of the puzzle.

He idly wondered if he was being timed, or if he was doing well or badly.

Again, using the arrows to cling to the wall, he managed to climb up to his previous position and grabbed onto the now-opened vent, pulling himself upward to climb inside.

* * *

Once inside, the blond realised the vent was a bit larger than he himself was, suggesting to him that this test, which he had now completely convinced himself that it was, was also used to test adults. Wondering if this was a hazing method of the hunter nin corps, he began to move through the vent. Though he noticed there was only a single direction to move in, Naruto settled with the knowledge that it was probably intentional design choice so that he couldn't escape the building easily.

Though tempted to use an exploding tag to try and collapse the ceiling underneath the vent, he didn't want to risk a trap going off in the vent, where there would be no room to dodge.

Finding an exit to the vent, Naruto dropped down into another room that was similar to the last. This time he could easily make out that there was a door though. More importantly, he also noticed three shinobi seemingly waiting for him in the room.

Each of them was dressed in a completely black uniform that looked pretty functional, at least to Naruto's eyes, and a mask that was similar to that of the ANBU. Notably, however, the masks had no markings on them and were completely blank.

'If this is a test, this must either be combat or escape. Judging by the door being in plain sight, my guess is the latter.' Thought Naruto, estimating that his opponents were each at least as strong as a regular Chunin, if not stronger.

What concerned the blond more was the fact that each of them was looking at him intently. He couldn't see their faces behind the masks, but the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up, telling him that he was about to be killed.

Drawing his tanto, the blond prepared himself, trying to figure out whether or not this room forbade the use of chakra the way the previous one had.

One of the shinobi came at him as though they'd been shot from a cannon, the speed overwhelming Naruto easily. He saw the wound across his chest before he felt it, realising that these enemies planned on holding nothing back. Most would've started by kicking the opponent away rather than going for a slash, as the movement left their flank unguarded.

This opponent, no, this enemy was ruthless, with no fear for their own life. Perhaps the knowledge that his enemies didn't fear death unnerved the blond, or perhaps the wound on his chest had shocked him, as he was unable to capitalise on the opportunity left by the attack.

Hissing as he tried to cover the wound on his chest to slow the bleeding, the whiskered blond narrowly avoided a blade of wind intended to decapitate him. Realising the severity of the situation, Naruto sharpened his focus to extremes that he'd never reached before.

'Three opponents, possible ANBU.' He thought to himself, pivoting on his heel to jump backwards to give himself some breathing room.

'One is a Ninjutsu specialist, another is a Kenjutsu specialist.' Thoughts spiralled through his mind, quickly trying to figure out where each of his opponents excelled in the hopes of working out a strategy on the fly.

'If the team is using a standard formation, chances are the third member is either a Genjutsu specialist or a medic.' Quickly realising his priority target, the blond decided that escape was impossible with the ninjutsu specialist still standing.

Acting as though he was lunging for the masked shinobi who he presumed to be the team's support member, he was quickly blocked by the team's kenjutsu user.

'Exactly as expected. Their formation is rock-solid.' Naruto thought to himself, cursing and launching himself at the Ninjutsu specialist. Easily seeing through his feint, the three formed a triangle formation.

However, they'd made a critical mistake. Revealing that chakra could be used so long as it wasn't on the walls, floor or ceiling gave Naruto free reign to form a strategy.

Throwing a kunai with an exploding tag attached, he caused the three to scatter, each independently starting to cast a jutsu at the blond.

Rushing towards the third member as he had the first time, the Kenjutsu specialist once again cut him off mid-way, cancelling his own jutsu. However, that was all according to the blond's expectations. Laying a subtle Genjutsu on the man, Naruto was able to easily avoid his blade and move past, continuing towards the third member.

Though he was quick to break free of the Genjutsu, as Shikaku had advised him, those precious few seconds were enough for him to force his advantage.

Moving to block him, the Ninjutsu specialist blocked his path to the third member. None of them realised that the Ninjutsu specialist was his real target, however.

Swallowing his reluctance to take the life of another, Naruto charged his tanto with chakra and quickly beheaded the man in a flourish, ruining his tanto completely as he did so. He'd been forced to sacrifice his blade, which was primarily a stabbing weapon, to quickly take the life of his opponent.

No matter how good a medic the third member was, there was no healing that.

Having taken a huge risk for the chance to take a kill-shot at his target, the blond knew that he would likely suffer major damage from behind any second now. Grabbing the body of the man he had killed, Naruto shielded himself from the slash that would've likely severed his spine, internally gagging at the brutality that he was using.

Reluctant though he was to fight this way, Anko had all but beaten this part of his humanity out of him, making him realise that he had to worry about himself before he could have the luxury of worrying about his enemies. He would ordinarily try to spare his enemies wherever he could, but these particular foes had made it more than clear that they had no intention of offering him the same mercy.

He heard his enemy snarl and couldn't resist grinning in satisfaction at breaking through his opponent's seemingly emotionless exterior. He wondered briefly if he could provoke the man into overextending, but figured they were likely too highly trained for that. Still, he now knew this man couldn't immediately break a Genjutsu on his own, but his enemies were likely to be much more cautious of him now that he had killed one of them.

Feeling a high level Genjutsu start to overcome him, he wondered if the unknown masked shinobi was the one who had kidnapped him. If so, he would make them pay for it.

Seeing his opportunity, he lunged for the escape, shocking his opponents who no longer had long range means of intercepting him. Quickly breaking the Genjutsu's hold over him, the blond distracted the Kenjutsu user by throwing his teammate's severed head at him.

Inwardly, Naruto was disgusted with the tactics he was employing, but resolved himself that mental warfare was just another aspect of shinobi combat. Contrary to his expectations, however, the man completely ignored the improvised projectile and continued to attack, seemingly determined to prevent the blond's escape.

Activating an exploding tag that he'd dropped, the whiskered Chunin forced the other masked shinobi to also move towards him. Together, they flanked him, seemingly preventing his escape.

In almost any other circumstances, the three masked shinobi would've easily killed him. This was a test, though, so there was means that he could utilise to fight back, the fact that the goal seemed to be escaping notwithstanding.

Deciding to test his theory, the blond shot forward with a burst of chakra, planning to trigger the floor traps in the hopes that they were the same as the wall traps. Gambling on his luck turned out to be the right choice as arrows started to be fired from the ceiling.

Landing a heavy punch to the Kenjutsu user's gut, he was able to grab the man and use him as a shield from the hail of arrows. Quickly, the man's life was extinguished as he was completely peppered with arrows, his movement ceasing as he was brained by an arrow.

That only left the Genjutsu user of the team, who had been able to handily deal with all of the arrows while Naruto had simply waited it out underneath the corpse. Once the arrows had stopped firing, the Genjutsu user began to clap, surprising the blond.

Removing his mask, a head of orange hair was revealed.

"You performed marvellously. Better than expected, even. Head through that door and you'll have completed the test." Revealed the man, trying to prompt Naruto to go through the exit.

"How about you throw your weapons to the ground, then go open the door for me, then?" Naruto suggested, causing the man to raise an eyebrow.

"After kidnapping me, locking me in this place and then ambushing me like that, plus me killing two of your allies, you can't really expect me to think this is over so easily." Said the blond. Despite himself, the man was almost impressed at the blond's reasoning.

"They followed their orders, and they died on the mission. It happens all the time. If I held a grudge every time someone I knew died, I'd hate the entire world, for sure." Revealed the man, claiming that he was uncaring of the deaths of his comrades.

Naruto felt inclined to believe him, the man didn't seem to have much independent thought of his own. Even his explanations seemed as though they'd been prepared by someone else, as though there was no real emotion behind his words or actions.

Regardless, the man dutifully followed the blond's instructions, removing his gear and throwing it to the ground. Collecting the man's weapons, Naruto added them to his own arsenal as he waited for the man to open the door.

He also none too subtly claimed the man's jacket for himself, feeling that it was far too good of an opportunity to let slip by, especially with the gaping slice in his shirt where the sword had cut into him. Zipping up the jacket, the blond missed the man's satisfied expression; pleased with the blond's frugality.

Deciding to be cautious, Naruto attached an exploding tag to the man and told him to walk in front of him. He was all too aware, of course, that the man would no doubt have a way to survive if he was to detonate the tag but felt at least a little more secure with the dangerous man having surrendered.

Internally, the man was impressed with the blond, feeling that not enough shinobi, especially newly promoted Chunin, would be so precautious. He didn't doubt that the only reason the Jinchuriki hadn't tried to kill him was because he either felt it was a gambit he wouldn't win, or that he could use him as leverage. Either way, he felt satisfied that his master had made the right choice.

* * *

Entering the next room, the whiskered blond was surprised to find a makeshift office, a large pane of glass separating one half of the room from the other. For an office, Naruto thought that it looked rather spartan. Wooden desk, wooden chair and a large wooden door.

Sat in the chair was an elderly man, one who Naruto was certain he'd seen before but couldn't exactly pin down where. Weary was the word that the blond would use to describe the man.

Dusty brown hair was cropped short at the top of his head, sitting atop a wrapping of bandages that covered the man's forehead and right eye. His one eye that was visible was narrowed, surprised at his subordinate's entry in front of the blond. A large cross-shaped scar marred the man's chin, showing that the man was, or at least used to be, a shinobi.

Dressed in a plain robe, the man seemed almost unguarded, but Naruto was no fool. Danger was in the air. One threatening movement and Naruto could tell that his life would be ended immediately. Wisely deciding to remove the exploding tag from his captive, the blond stood facing the man who was sat in the desk.

"Fu, did I tell you that you could come in here once the mission was complete?" Questioned the man, seemingly annoyed with his subordinate.

"Gomen, Danzo-sama, but he refused to come through without assurance that he wasn't going to immediately be ambushed once more. I decided that acting as a hostage was the wisest course of action in order to fulfil my mission." Explained the now-revealed Fu, confirming Naruto's suspicions that the man had co-operated with his demands only because it made his own job easier.

Waving his hand, Danzo decided he would let the man's impertinence, for that's what he believed it to be, stand for now.

Appraising the blond who now stood in front of him, Danzo was surprised to see that he was wearing Fu's jacket. Still, he acknowledged that he seemed well equipped, and reasoned that the blond must've managed to acquire his own gear, meaning he had solved all of the puzzles in the first room.

Danzo was impressed. Most of his recruits were unable to even make their way into the second room, much less succeed there also.

"As I suspected, you were too weak to kill my subordinates." Was stated clearly, slighting Naruto with the condescending words.

"Well, I guessed the objective was escape, so killing two out of three was enough for me." Naruto stated, disputing the statement that he wouldn't have killed Fu. Danzo raised his one visible eyebrow, surprised that the blond had been able to defeat two of his Jonin ranked shinobi, along with the fact that he had also killed them in the process.

"Well, well. It seems Hiruzen's philosophy hasn't quite ruined your generation the way I expected it to." Bristling at the perceived insult to his pseudo-grandfather, Naruto reluctantly stayed silent, not wishing to die a needless death.

Acknowledging the blond's anger at his words, Danzo smiled at the fact the blond had the good sense to reign in his emotions in the face of a threat he couldn't hope to handle.

"I wish to make you an offer, Naruto Uzumaki." Hung in the air, as though the veil in the clouds was being lifted.

"You have a funny way of showing it. Though, I suppose it served as a good test if you're planning to make me a subordinate." Naruto retorted, seeing through Danzo's intentions. Pleased with the blond's intuition, Danzo's eyes crinkled with slight mirth.

"You're more intelligent than my sources had me believe, or is your usual personality an act?" Danzo asked in genuine curiosity. Though he felt inclined to withdraw the question as he saw the Chunin's eyes sharpen, having learned more from the question than intended.

"So, you have sources close to me, then? I'm guessing this is some kind of ANBU branch, though I doubt you were ordered to do this. Kakashi, maybe? No, that wouldn't give you enough information about me, though I still can't rule him out. Shikaku? No, that's too unreasonable. Possibly another Nara, then. There's no way that's your only source either, though. There's an Aburame in your ranks, then?" Naruto questioned/stated.

Fu's, and even Danzo's, eyes widened at that. Normally, he wouldn't have been able to work all of that out on his own, but he had reasons to suspect, and his mind was running on overdrive, being held under duress.

Kakashi was former ANBU, after all, and he really wasn't suited to be a sensei, so it made sense. Shino had told him before that he had a trace on him as well, so he knew an Aburame had been watching him, he simply knew that he couldn't be constantly looking over his shoulder or he might've been eliminated out of principle. Shinobi are killed if they know too much, after all.

Without those factors, the blond wouldn't have been able to piece the puzzle together so easily, but even working it out with the information that he had was more than most would expect of the blond. Exceptions being Anko, Jiraiya, Shikamaru, and Shikaku, all of whom had at least glanced the sharp mind that lurked beneath the exterior.

"An unexpected, but not unwanted, surprise." Danzo complimented, a little bewildered at the amount of thought the blond had put into his answer in such a short time.

Naruto remained silent, realising he'd revealed more knowledge than he should've.

"I'd like to recruit you into my organisation, ROOT." Silence continued from the blond's end, refusing to either accept or refuse the invitation without a grasp of the consequences of either choice. After all, it didn't pay to be quick to insult the person whose whims were keeping you alive.

Still wondering if he would be able to escape, the blond Chunin idly wondered if anyone was out looking for him. How long he'd been missing for, and how long it would be before he'd get back home. Home was a funny word to the blond. Even though he had lived in his apartment for as long as he could remember, it still didn't feel right to call it home.

Odd circumstances to be thinking about it, for sure, but the blond thought that if he survived this, he'd really like to get a place that he could really call his home. It was something that he felt he didn't spend enough time thinking about.

"You don't have to decide right this instant." Danzo offered the out that Naruto had been hoping for. Seeing his opportunity, the blue-eyed Chunin decided to ask a question in response.

"What do you want with someone like me, anyway?" Asked the blond, intrigued on the purpose behind his sudden abduction. Though he thought the fox in his gut was likely to be the answer, he still felt like asking.

Danzo smiled, finding an in with which he could better convince the blond.

"I was impressed with your performance at the Chunin Exams." Was the honest statement that came from Danzo. Indeed, his own designs on Konoha had been inconvenienced by the blond's actions, but he had to acknowledge the talent that had been displayed by the young man. He wasn't even bitter, really. After all, Hiruzen had still died, Sunagakure had still been forced onto the back-foot, and Orochimaru had gained nothing from it.

If anything, the blond's actions had completely ruined Orochimaru's machinations, which satisfied Danzo more than he would publicly admit. For certain, the warhawk retained at least enough emotional capacity to feel satisfied when his opponents plan fell apart.

Scratching his head sheepishly, the blond tried not to let the praise go to his head. He had been fully expecting the man to say that the Kyuubi, or even his Uzumaki heritage, was the reason for his interest in him, so the man's interest in his abilities was unexpected.

Waiting for the retired shinobi to elaborate, the blond tried to figure out where he was recognising the man from. He wondered if he'd perhaps heard of the man in one of the books that Shikaku had been forcing him to read, but he felt more as though he'd seen him in person before.

Vaguely recalling being a young child, sat in the Sandaime's lap, he could now remember the man stood alongside the other two elders of the village, Homura and Koharu. Deciding to keep the knowledge of the man's identity to himself, the blond decided to let his brain rest for a while, feeling the beginnings of a headache forming.

"Genjutsu is such a rare talent. Even more so for someone in your unique situation. With some refinement, you could be a real asset." Complimented the warhawk, genuinely impressed with the amount of chakra control training that he imagined must have gone into allowing the blond to perform Genjutsu. Although he hadn't utilised anything particularly high-level, the amount of chakra that he had should've made even that immensely difficult.

"You mean a tool?" Naruto questioned rhetorically, challenging the values of the man who had caused his abduction.

"No. Most shinobi in my ranks serve as my tools, but I have far grander designs for you, should you accept my offer." Danzo offered, still not fully revealing his intentions to the blond as of yet.

"What do you mean by grander designs?" Taking the bait, Naruto felt that he wanted to hear the man out on his proposal before flat-out rejecting it.

"First, you tell me, is your goal still to become Hokage?" Stunned by the unexpected question, the blond took a deep breath and for the first time since Sakura's death, started to think about what it really was that he wanted to do.

'Protect my comrades, and my family.' Ran through Naruto's mind first, his priorities having changed since his fateful first mission outside of Konoha. 'Restore Uzugakure.' Followed. His heart telling him that he should try to find the other Uzumaki and rebuild their fallen homeland.

"Does being strong make you right? If so, does being weak make you wrong?" Naruto asked rhetorically, not really expecting an answer from the retired shinobi. Pinning it all down to a single goal, the blond was able to summarise a single goal.

"I want to protect the people close to me. That's something I don't think is really possible in the world the way it is, so I want to change it. Becoming Hokage is the best path open to making that a reality." Satisfied at the answer, Danzo decided the blond's goal was suitable to match his own ends.

"Over time, your answer might change, but that's fine. Since you answered my question, I'll answer yours. ROOT is currently a branch organisation of the ANBU, but officially we don't exist. That can't remain the case forever. Eventually, Tsunade or the Hokage who comes after her will try to drag ROOT out from the shadows and into the light. We need an operative who works in the light, who can show the village the value of our organisation without having to publicly expose it." Danzo patiently explained, letting the blond digest the information.

"ROOT would follow your orders, so long as they didn't supersede my own. On top of that, you'd be elevated into a political position where we can get you on the council where you can really make a difference." Naruto's eyes widened, not missing the implications of such a benefit to himself and his goal.

Though he didn't want to have to think about all of the politics all the time, Naruto had to admit to himself that there didn't seem to be many downsides.

"Can I have a little time to think about it?" Naruto asked, bringing an end to the negotiations, at least for the time being.

"Fu, escort this young man back to where you found him. Uzumaki, I hope you'll consider my offer, I don't make deals like this for everyone." Danzo stated in a tone that left no room for questioning.

"Thank you for the offer, how will I contact you when I have my answer?" Naruto asked, seriously considering whether or not to join ROOT. Although he wanted to ask Shikaku for advice on it, he knew that asking questions about ROOT wouldn't end well for him. Especially asking the Jonin Leader about an ANBU organisation that was considered disbanded.

Little did Naruto realise that ROOT's existence was one of Konoha's worst kept secrets in the upper echelons. Hiruzen had opted to ignore their continued operations, believing their actions to be for the benefit of Konohagakure, after all.

Sighing, Naruto let the sleeping Genjutsu overcome him, knowing that the location of the base was something they didn't want him knowing right now.

* * *

 **Hokage Mountain:**

With evening came a cold breeze, the early signs of autumn beginning to set in. Even without opening his eyes, Naruto could tell where he was. This was his favourite place to go when he needed to think. He admitted to himself that he was a little put-out that Danzo must've even known that about him.

'Although, I swear that guy Fu was ordered to take me back to the hospital, so why'd he drop me off here?' Naruto questioned internally. Feeling small droplets hitting his cheek, the blond opened his eyes and noticed the fresh rain that was starting to fall.

"I thought I'd find you here, Naruto." Came a voice from behind him. Turning around, Naruto saw his academy teacher, Iruka, approaching, umbrella in hand.

"Hey, Iruka-sensei. How'd you know where to find me?" Naruto asked, internally quite impressed. Even he didn't know he would be here, so how could Iruka?

'Wait, is Iruka ROOT? I mean, an academy instructor would be a good agent for a recruiting ANBU branch to have.' Thought the blond, almost convincing himself that his academy sensei was spying on him for Danzo's organisation.

Deciding not to go down that rabbit hole for the time being, the blond decided to enjoy the evening air a little, realising he'd only been taken for a few hours, meaning it was unlikely that anyone even noticed his disappearance.

"I always used to see you come here when you were sad. You'd sit on the academy swing and watch all the other kids leave with their parents, then eventually you'd always end up finding your way up here." Iruka revealed.

Surprise didn't quite justify Naruto's reaction to those words, having thought that nobody had ever really paid attention to him when he was back in the academy. Ever since the Chunin Exams, he'd been receiving a lot less general hostility from the villagers, especially the shinobi, but mostly people still just ignored him.

He'd occasionally get a nod of recognition from shinobi who he passed, which always caught him off guard, but that wasn't quite the same as people acknowledging him. While his goal had been acknowledgement, the cruelty of the shinobi world had beaten that out of him.

"I take it you heard about the Sandaime then? I know the two of you were close." Iruka asked, having come to see the blond out of worry for how he was coping.

Even though he'd come to terms with a lot of his inner demons after his talk with Kakashi, the blond still hadn't had time to really grieve. Perhaps Iruka had seen through that, realising that his student needed a shoulder to cry on.

"Yeah. I spent a lot of time blaming people, but I think that maybe Jiji was just ready to go. He'd been Hokage for a long time, you know?" Naruto questioned, his words feeling a little hollow, even to himself. Being kidnapped one moment, then suddenly being forced to confront his grief, the blond felt like he was being launched at one emotional hurdle after another.

Iruka had a small smile, glad that he would be able to help the blond, who was always trying so hard to act like nothing ever hurt him. When you cut to the heart of it though, the toughest people only get that way by being hurt more than anyone else.

"Bottling up your emotions isn't good for you, Naruto. It's okay to cry when you're sad, so long as you don't hold on to all the pain." Iruka comforted the blond, having gone through something similar when he'd lost his own parents in the Kyuubi attack.

At first, like everyone else, Iruka had blamed Naruto, thinking that he was just the fox. Even now, Iruka could never forgive the fox for killing his parents. That was where his similarities to the general populace ended. Iruka recognised that there was no way the whiskered little boy who would make mischief for attention, and would cry out for acknowledgement, so much like himself as a child, could ever be a demon.

Iruka considered Naruto to be like a much younger brother. Seeing so many similarities to himself at that age, Iruka couldn't find it in himself to hate the blond, blue-eyed boy who always put on a brave front.

Pride was something he felt a lot of when he looked at Naruto. To him, it was as though the blond had stood up, even when everyone was trying to knock him down. Especially after watching the Chunin Exam finals. In the academy, Naruto hadn't even been able to perform the most basic illusory jutsu, the Bunshin jutsu. Since then, he'd become skilled enough with Genjutsu that he could cast them mid-battle and had even defeated some of the top Genin from other villages.

At those words, Naruto realised there was no way the man could be working for ROOT. All of them had been almost emotionless. They had lingering attachments, Fu tended to do what he thought benefited his master rather than following his orders, the Kenjutsu specialist he'd killed had been angry at the loss of a comrade, but for the most part they were completely empty inside.

"I just miss him so much, you know?" Naruto said, once more slipping into his verbal tic. He'd been suppressing it pretty well, Anko having told him that it was dangerous if an enemy shinobi was able to identify him by traits like verbal tics, but when he was feeling emotional it would just slip out.

Naruto wondered as to whether he'd ever be able to fully get rid of it or not.

"We all do, Naruto. He always talked about you when I was in the mission office. He was really proud of you." Iruka stated clearly. Tears welled up in Naruto's eyes at the revelation, having felt that he'd been nothing but a burden to the Sandaime, who had always treated him like family.

Unwittingly, the blond's tears began to fall, the rush of emotions overwhelming him. Talking to Kakashi had allowed him to get the anger and the regret out of his system, but it was Iruka who was able to help him deal with the hurt and pain that came with the loss of a loved one.

It had been a long day for the blond. Returning to Konoha, finding out that the Sandaime had passed away, forgiving Kakashi, challenging Sasuke, being abducted by Danzo, and being comforted by Iruka.

"You're strong, Naruto, and I hate to ask this of you, but there's someone who needs your strength right now." Naruto turned to face Iruka at this, despite not wanting the man to see his tears.

"Tomorrow, they'll announce the Sandaime's death to the public." Though Naruto was surprised at how quick they would be to leak the news, he supposed it would only be a matter of time regardless. Unsure of the deeper meaning behind Iruka's statement, Naruto met his gaze quizzically.

"You and Konohamaru are close, right?" Iruka asked rhetorically, already knowing the answer. At this, Naruto's eyes widened.

'That's right, how could I be so selfish? Konohamaru will be hurting far more than I am.' Internally, the blond scolded himself for his self-centredness, having completely forgotten about his not-quite-student.

"Thanks, Iruka-sensei. I had my priorities all messed up there for a while." Naruto apologised, wiping his tears away from his eyes. Leaving his former sensei a parting smile, the blond walked to the edge of the mountain.

"Ja ne, sensei." Naruto said, his tone filled with gratitude before allowing gravity to take hold as he jumped down from the mountain.

Rushing to the edge to check on the blond, the scarred Chunin was relieved to see he had already vanished from sight.

"You really are strong, Naruto." Iruka stated aloud.

 **Five Days Later:**

Everyone in Konoha was gathered for the Sandaime's funeral. It was a major event of mourning for the village, who had just lost their beloved leader, the man who had led them through two wars and kept the village safe for decades.

Many of the younger shinobi and civilians had believed the man invincible, seeing him as a constant sign of Konohagakure's prosperity. In truth, deep down a lot of the older shinobi had begun to feel that way as well.

Truly, he was a man who would never be forgotten in the hearts of all those present.

Naruto stood side by side with Konohamaru. Both had tears in their eyes, but the latter was crying freely. Naruto smiled through his own tears as he watched Konohamaru. In truth, Naruto no longer felt like he had the right to claim he had the will of fire that the Sandaime had always preached about to the village, but he knew that Konohamaru's will of fire would burn brightly.

Disillusioned with the world after the sin he'd committed on his first real mission outside of the village, the blond knew that something inside his heart had changed. He wasn't as corrupted as he thought himself to be, but it felt as though he was always playing the role of Naruto Uzumaki, as opposed to actually living.

Maybe that's what had led him to imitate Anko and Shikaku to the extent that he had. After talking to Kakashi, though, Naruto realised that he needed to move on with his life.

It was likely that was what possessed him to reveal a little of his true nature to Danzo after he'd been abducted. His true face was easier to show to those who didn't know him than those who did. For a while, he'd felt nothing from Sakura's death. He blamed Kyuubi for what happened, before eventually accepting his own part in what had happened.

Kyuubi hadn't spoken to him lately.

His nightmares concerning Sakura had lessened, and he was sure that eventually they would cease. That day, and only that day, he would allow himself to cry freely. After all, the moment he stopped caring for those he killed was the moment he stopped being human in his own eyes.

Despair had tainted him. Darkness had overcome him.

'No more.' Promised the blond to the deceased Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Even if it dragged him through a path of thorns, the blond wanted to walk a path that he believed in.

Heart overfilled with emotions, Naruto watched Konohamaru proudly.

As the man who was the only constant in Naruto's life from an early age was laid to rest, the village mourned. Even the sky itself seemed to be in mourning as teardrops rained down from the heavens.

Resolving himself to become better, to become stronger so that he could try to prevent catastrophes like the death of Sarutobi in the future, the blond decided to try and look beyond.

Even if he was to fail and end up twisted and broken like Kakashi, he would use the man's resolve, learn from the man's mistakes, to guide himself to a brighter tomorrow.

What lies beyond despair?

* * *

 **Author's Note: Thanks for reading Chapter 13 of Ripples and Consequences. I finished it much sooner than expected due to a sudden burst of creativity. Next chapter will be a feature-length, aiming to be out in the next two weeks. Look forward to it.**

 **As always, feel free to review. Thank you for all those of you who have followed my story so far and those who will do so in the coming times; it makes my day each time I get a notification that even one more person has decided they liked it enough to follow or leave a review.**


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